Pala Pala Pa'ani
by Cokie316
Summary: One of the team has disappeared. Everyone else needs to figure out why.
1. Chapter 1

_**Pala Pala Pa'ani**_

_**By Cokie**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**This was a dream. Way back, last summer, I believe. I didn't know what I would do with it, but it was a very vivid dream… even down to the color of the cargos, so I took the time to write it down while it was still fresh in my mind. And it has set on my thumb drive until now. **_

_**Thanks so much to Sym64, Sherry57, Sockie1000 and Rogue Tomato for reviewing all of this and giving me the gumption to post. I am anxious to hear what you think of this idea! **_

_**Sym also made the cool bookcover. In fact, she made 5 of them and wanted me to choose… yeah, right, I couldn't do that so I asked Sherry57 to pick one. She picked a great one, but let's be honest, there wasn't a turkey in the bunch!**_

_**Be sure to read the author's notes at the end of the page!**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

It was sheer luck that we found him.

Or a miracle.

I didn't really believe in either of those options, but Gracie did. And Grace was right… she told me this morning that we would find him today.

After 46 hours of searching and hoping she _**knew**_ we would find him.

Thank God for little girls and their undying faith. But find him, we did.

Which was a total fluke. We have been traipsing through this gully-washed jungle for the past nine hours, having had to leave the pitiful excuse for a path way too many times to count. This last time, a giant tree was down on the path blocking our way, its dead, tangled branches now jutting toward the sky.

After veering first to the left, which was dense with undergrowth, we chose to head to the right, around the tree, in hopes of reconnecting with the path very soon. Chin's machete cut through the brush ahead of us while Kono and her trusty flashlight brightened the way; I remained at our six.

_**Six.**_ His word, not mine. It seemed that in the past couple of years, I've learned a lot of military speak.

I wondered why? Early on, he had managed to get under my skin, his very thoughts sometimes dictating my life. Now… well, it was just normal.

And now we found him again.

Kono tripped on what she had thought was a root. Until she shone her flashlight over the spot so that I wouldn't trip as well.

And we saw the mud-caked brown boot jutting from the brush. After staring at it for a moment, realizing what we were actually seeing, we both shouted. Whatever we said caused Chin to rush back to our sides and we all three stared at it in shock. I reached down and placed two fingers beneath Steve's boot… there was _**no**_ doubt as to whose foot that was… to search for a pulse. After a few panicked moments, I picked up a beat. It was by no means steady or strong, but it was there.

We all began trying to remove the dense brush as it scratched our hands and thorns pricked our skin. We shouted his name, trying to reach him. The once-charcoal gray cargos were caked in both dry and still sticky mud. Reddish stains were also mingled with the dirt. What amazed me was how he had managed to tunnel into this thicket of brush, thorns and branches. Chin had to go easy with the machete for fear of cutting him in the process.

Finally we were able to get closer and Kono set down her light and crawled as far as she could into the space.

"Still can't see his face," she told us. "Steve! Hey, Boss, can you hear me?"

After all we had gone through in the search for our friend, there simply weren't any other options but for him to make it out of this okay.

"He's on his stomach; his arms are above his head and I can't get in far enough to see his face," Kono yelled to us. She paused and then added, "Guys, I think he's been shot in the back."

I had just finished calling in the troops giving them our coordinates when I heard that news. "What mess did he land in the middle of this time," I wondered more to myself than anyone else.

"Here, hold the light for Kono," Chin told me. "I'm going to try cutting away from the opposite side."

I looked up from the hole he had cut away. "Good idea, be careful. Kono, can you see anything else?"

She was still trying to slither into a space not big enough for a body to enter. "Oh, God. Danny, there's blood everywhere."

I could hear the panic in her voice; knew she dreaded what she was going to find.

"Hey, Danny?" Chin called. "I can make headway on this side. Come over and help me pull away the brush when I chop it."

"Yeah, coming." I slid as far into the space as I could and pushed the flashlight toward Kono. "Kono, take the light; we'll meet you from the other side."

"Thanks, Brah," she called back, then added, "We found him Danny. He'll be OK."

"Yeah, of course he will."

He has to be. Gracie is never wrong.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**Five days ago…**_

_**To be continued…**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**Author's Notes: Like I said, this was a dream. I have thought long and hard on it and don't know where to go from here. I have *no* clue what happened to Steve, who did this or whether he was on a case or if this is something personal.**_

_**The title means "Writing Game" and I thought it would be fun to write this story together with all of you. I am going to ask some questions for you to answer by using the "Review" feature. I will take your responses and attempt to write the next chapter. At the end of that chapter, there will be more questions for you. It will be in YOUR hands where this story goes. It will be up to you to decide what Steve and friends have to endure on the way. And hopefully, we will mesh together an entire story this summer.**_

_**So, what do you think? Will it work? Will you help? Can we pull it off, creating an exiting adventure? Please don't make me beg… it isn't pretty. **_

_**You can answer both questions or just one of them. I will try to use as many of your ideas as I can in the plot line, so you'll have to read the next chapter to see if you recognize any of your input!**_

_**The questions for this chapter are:**_

_**1. Was Steve the hunter or the hunted? **_

_**2. Was Steve alone when this happened? **_

_**Please send your replies to me by Thursday, June 20 at 5:00 p.m., Eastern time zone (1700 hours). Give me as much detail as you like to help flesh out the story. I will review every comment and use as much as I can throughout the chapters. I will have chapter 2 for you as soon as I can.  
**_

_**Thank you! Now… get busy!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Pala Pala Pa'ani**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_**OK, I know it has been two weeks... I'm SO sorry. **_

_**Wow! You guys amaze me. I have had 50 reviews from this chapter and of that 50, 39 of you answered one or both of my questions. Four of you think Steve was the hunter and 35 believe he was the hunted. Twenty-five reviewers said that Steve was alone and 10 said he was with his team or another person.**_

_**Thank you for playing!**_

_**I didn't think it would take so long for Chapter 2 to be completed. I also didn't realize it was going to be as difficult as it was to come up with the plot after reading all of your ideas. I hope you will continue to read and contribute for the rest of the story. The next questions are at the end of this chapter.**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**Five Days Ago**_

Nigel Harrington, Ph.D. was a self-made man. Literally. His title was as phony as the pompous name itself. But none of that mattered… because Nigel was a happy man. He had found what he had been searching for. He could feel it in his bones.

He smiled while switching off the microfiche and removing the cartridge. He was seated at a small desk in the Hawaii Historical Society headquarters. He looked around the library on Kawaiahao Street and watched the dust particles from the stale books filter through the sunlight coming through the tall rain-splashed windows. He couldn't be more pleased after finding this last piece of the puzzle and knowing he now had everything he needed.

His supplies had been procured and were ready for transport. His manservant, Riku had overseen the task, ensuring that they lacked nothing. His helpers were ready… eager and waiting. He chose them well. Two male archaeology students who were used to hard work. One's hobby was the rifle team and the other was adept in archery. Good qualifications to have in case of emergency. The third was a billowy blonde who looked exceedingly nice in white shorts. She was an anthropology student and Nigel chose her for the mere fact that she was pleasant to look at. He would enjoy the distraction while waiting. College students were so easily impressed with titles and the show of money. He had promised them a well-deserved payment for their services. While a monetary figure had enticed them, only Nigel knew that they would never see any of the promised salary. In fact, once the job was finished, they would never see the light of day for Nigel had never learned to share. Riku had become quite adept at hiding bodies of those Nigel no longer had a need for.

And he didn't have to worry about Riku talking. A previous employer had taken care of that by cutting out the man's tongue when he had laughed at an inopportune time. Riku had learned respect and also had learned his lot in life. When Nigel had killed Riku's former employer, Riku naturally began working for him. The fact that the former employer was Nigel's own father had little to do with the equation. But after all the 'tasks' Riku had performed, Nigel certainly didn't question the man's loyalty. And was constantly amazed at his many talents.

Nigel stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked at the ever changing Hawaiian sky. An afternoon shower was over and the clouds were quickly scattering, leaving behind a brilliant, bright blue sky. The sun was already drying the droplets of rain left on the tree branches as he moved at a fast pace toward his car. Riku magically appeared and opened the rear door of the large, black SUV, waiting patiently to close it after Nigel was seated.

Once Riku climbed in the driver's seat, Nigel spoke. "We're set, Riku and will leave in the morning. Head back to the hotel and I will gather our new friends. By this time next week, I suspect we will be wealthy beyond belief."

As they pulled away from the curb, Nigel caught sight of his own reflection in the car's window, his smile confident and smug. Nothing would dare interfere with his plans.

~~~H50~~~

_**Four Days Ago**_

Grace Williams was a girl on a mission. She had been around her Danno and Uncle Steve enough times to know how to plan covert ops. The first lesson was to _divide and conquer_. And she decided to begin with her Uncle Steve… who rarely denied her anything. She scrolled through her phone to find his name and pressed the call button.

"_Hey, Gracie, what's up?"_

"Hi, Uncle Steve. Are you busy?"

"_Nah, just cleaning up from dinner. Is everything OK?"_

"Yeah, but I need to ask you a favor…"

She ended the call ten minutes later, a smile on her face.

_**Three Days Ago**_

Steve was seated at his desk trying to word an email to the governor. Denning had questions regarding his last requisition form and the commander was attempting to be creative in justifying everything he needed to run the task force. He took a sip of his coffee and stared at the screen. It was early and his brain just wasn't coming up with the words he needed to make a case. He glanced up and waved to Kono when she arrived and headed straight for the kitchenette. If he was lucky, maybe he could forward this to her so she could make it sound nicer than what he was trying to say.

While he was still staring, Danny pushed open the glass doors and headed straight to Steve's office. Looking like a bull in a china shop.

His palm flat against Steve's door, he pushed it open and then pointed his finger. "Steven?"

"Hey, Danno." Steve glared at the finger. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Really, you open with that?"

"Well, _clearly_ you are agitated and _clearly_ I am going to hear about it, so that's why I asked. Now, you want to fill me in?"

"Did you or did you not promise my beautiful daughter that you would take her on a helicopter trip to Kauai this weekend?"

"Ah…" Steve wracked his brain. "No, I didn't. At least, I don't think so. Did she say that? I mean, we talked—"

"Ah ha! So you _**did**_ talk to her?"

"Well, yeah, she called last night, but I didn't—"

Danny plopped down on the sofa in Steve's office. "Oh, trust me, Steve, I'm sure that in her mind you promised her whatever she wanted. Tell me what she said."

Steve nodded, leaning back in his chair. "She asked if I knew what geocaching was and I told her I did. Treasure hunting with a GPS."

"Right," Danny nodded.

"She said something about no Aloha Girls meetings over the summer but she could get extra badge credit if she did certain things during the summer before school started back up." He thought for a moment and continued, "She asked if I could go with you and her into the jungle to try to find some caches soon."

Steve thought over the conversation to himself, then added, "Danny, I didn't tell her we would go anywhere this weekend."

"What else did she say? Think hard, because I'm sure she pulled a fast one on you."

"Really, Danny, she's eleven. I think I can hold my own with her."

"Dream on, Steven."

"Grace said that there are parks on Oahu to check out but a lot of people were going to go there. She said that the best place was on Kauai but you would say no because it would be too expensive to fly there. I told her that it wouldn't cost too much if we could use one of Mark's helicopters."

"Ah ha!" Danny said, waving his hands in the air.

"Hang on, no," Steve said, leaning forward in his chair. "I said that maybe *some* weekend we could go and camp overnight and check out her geocache list. In fact, I know I told her that I was busy this Sunday. I didn't promise her anything."

Steve crossed his arms and glared at Danny, daring him to disagree.

"You may not have promised, but Gracie called me and said that we needed to go to Kauai this weekend for an Aloha Girl geocache party. She said you were free Friday and Saturday, so if I asked you nicely to take us, we could go up on Friday and come back Saturday afternoon. She planned this entire thing out, plotting against us."

"I don't even know if I can get a helicopter this weekend. And I _**have**_ to be back on Sunday," Steve said.

"What'cha doing on Sunday?"

"Um, just some plans I already made."

"Well, I have Grace from Friday until Sunday night. She is in day camp for the day, but if we could work out a chopper, would you be free to go to a park with us?"

Steve shrugged. "I don't see why not, unless our caseload changes. We could leave here early afternoon and get set up camp. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Do I want to spend the night in the jungle and get eaten alive by bugs again? No. But will I do it for my daughter? Absolutely. And besides… surely this weekend can't be as bad as the last one."

Steve chuckled. "I highly doubt it."

~~~H50~~~

_**Two Days Ago**_

"Are you almost ready, Uncle Steve?" Grace asked for the third time in twenty minutes.

"Soon," he replied, still adding items to the backpack that was setting on his desk. "The first rule of camping is to be prepared."

"I know. We learned all about it from Ms. Madeline."

"Well, since you know so much, for this trip, *you* are going to be in charge, just to show us what you've learned. And to get that extra Aloha Girls badge. Besides," he added with a grin, "it will be your penance for tricking Danno and me into taking you out this weekend."

"What's 'penance'?" she asked.

"Your punishment… it means *you* get to do all the work," he explained.

"Oh," she replied, her eyes wide. "I didn't mean to trick you…"

"Too late!" he exclaimed while zipping his pack. "I just hope you know what you're doing out there." He smiled at her again to let her know he was teasing and glanced up as Chin came into his office.

"Here you go, Steve… two satellite phones," Chin Ho said, handing over the instruments. "GPS is operational and the numbers are recorded."

"Thanks, Chin," Steve replied while placing one in each of the side pockets of the backpack. "And now," he grinned at Grace, "I think we're ready."

Chin held the door open for Grace and Steve to leave.

"Yo, Danno, get a move on," Steve yelled to his friend while placing the pack on his back and then helping Grace with her much-smaller backpack.

Danny switched off his computer and grabbed his duffel bag. "We have everything?" he asked, coming out of his office.

"The truck is packed and I think we're ready," he replied as Kono also came to send them off. "You two call if there is any trouble at all, OK?" Steve ordered their two teammates.

"Gotcha, Boss," she assured him. "Go have fun."

"Have fun, she says," Danny griped, taking hold of Grace's hand. "I'm flying over water in a tin can piloted by that guy," he said, pointing behind him. "And she expects me to have fun."

Grace giggled as Chin slapped Steve on the back. "Good luck, my friend."

"Yeah, I think I'll need it," Steve said with a smile, leaving to catch up to the others.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Grace jumped from the helicopter, Steve's arms around her waist. "That was fun, Uncle Steve. I can't wait until we can do it again tomorrow." She looked around the landing strip on Kauai and asked Danny and Steve. "Now what?"

Danny looked at his partner. "Wait a second. Steve, didn't you say that she was in charge?"

"Yes, I did. And I'm already sensing a problem, how about you?" He folded his arms and glared at Grace. "How are we going to get to the park from here?"

"Uh…" She looked at the two men as panic began to creep in.

"We're teasing, Monkey," Danny grinned at her. "We rented a car."

"Good. Because I didn't know how long of a hike it was going to be," she replied while reaching for his hand. "And that's a lot of gear," she said, watching Steve begin to unload the chopper.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"This is _**so**_ cool," Grace repeated once again, beaming from ear to ear while eating an MRE of macaroni and cheese. "I've never had an MRE before."

"Ah, yes," Danny muttered. "One of the finer things in life."

Steve grinned. "Hey! You said you would take care of breakfast if I could provide dinner. It was your idea."

"And here I was… silly me… thinking maybe we could have hotdogs cooked over the fire."

"Hot dogs aren't good for you," Steve shot back.

"And MREs are?" Danny turned his packet over to read the ingredients. "Do you know how many calories there are in _**this**_ thing?"

"Yes, but in combat, you need the extra calories," Steve replied while finishing his beef stew. "And I thought Grace would like the experience."

"I love it," she said. "And, just wait… I brought dessert."

"Dessert? Seriously?" her father asked.

"Yes," she assured them, reaching into her backpack and pulling out square packages of aluminum foil. "I already made them and they just need to warm up near the fire. We're having s'mores."

"Ooh," Danny said. "Good choice."

"What's a shmore?" Steve asked his face scrunched in confusion.

"Uncle Steve, it's 's'more' and you haven't ever eaten them? Just wait then… it's a surprise. You're gonna love it."

A few minutes later, his eyes widened when he opened the foil to find marshmallow and chocolate melted to perfection.

"See," Grace said, stringing marshmallow from her mouth to her hand. "It's good."

Steve had to agree. "It's real good!"

"So, do you think we should check out my phone's GPS to make sure we can find some geocaches," Grace asked.

"Not tonight, Gracie," Danny told her. "We'll have plenty of time tomorrow for your project."

"Plenty of time," Steve agreed. "Why don't we leave the park sometime in the afternoon and we can catch dinner in town before we take off back home. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan," Danny agreed.

"Uncle Steve, what'cha doing on Sunday that you have to get back?" Grace asked.

"Yes, Uncle Steve, what plans might you have that you failed to mention?"

"Plans," Steve said. "Nothing spectacular."

"He's hiding something," Danny whispered to Grace. "I can tell."

"I'm not hiding anything. I just have… plans."

"Secret plans," Grace stated.

"It's not a secret—" Steve began to argue.

"And do these secret plans have anything to do with a lovely lieutenant that we all know and love?" Danny pressed.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Maybe. It's nothing. We're just going out to dinner when she gets back on shore."

"What's she been doing this week?" Danny asked.

"Her monthly maneuvers out at sea," Steve replied. "They are expected to dock around 1400 and we are having dinner that night."

Danny just looked at him, shaking his head. "Then why all the secrecy?"

"It isn't a secret!" Steve exclaimed. "All right, it is our anniversary, OK? I'm surprising her and taking her to Ama 'ama for dinner. There. Now, are you happy?"

"Ooh," Grace cooed. "Is it romantic?"

Steve made a face. "I don't know. It's a good restaurant."

"And a little dancing afterwards?" Danny suggested. "Huh, what'do'ya think, Big Guy. A little wine, a nice walk on the beach… sounds like you've got it all planned."

Steve glared at him. "And this is why I keep my mouth shut. It is no big deal. Dinner at a nice restaurant. That's all."

"Was she happy when you asked her out?" Grace asked, her chin planted in her fisted hand, asking for more details.

"Yeah, I guess," Steve asked. "At least I think so," he mumbled. "She just thinks we're going out to eat… she doesn't know _where_ we're going. That part is the surprise. She'll find out when she gets into port."

"How are you going to do that?" Danny asked.

Steve's grin was sly and secretive. "I have my ways."

"See that evil grin, Gracie? Our boy is keeping secrets."

"Where were you when you asked her out?" she continued.

"Uh," he stumbled, not willing to confess that much to a child, although it would serve Danny right if he announced that they had been rolling around in bed after just waking up. _Bet that would shut him up!_ "It was last weekend and we were home." He stood and collected the foil containers to add to their trash they would remove from the park.

Grace stood up and bounced on her toes. "Well, I know Catherine will be beautiful and you need to look really nice, too, Uncle Steve. You should wear a suit."

He grinned at her. "Yes, ma'am. I'll see what I can do. Any other instructions?"

"You need to shave. You look sort of scruffy today."

Danny snorted as Steve glared at him.

"We're camping in a park," Steve argued. "I think scruffy is fine."

"But not on Sunday," Grace told him.

"I promise you I will shave." He glanced around their campsite. "Hey, I'm going to go a bit higher up the hill and see if I can get good reception to call Catherine. She has some down time tonight."

"Ooh," Danny said. "I bet if we listen real hard, Grace, we'll hear some smooching in the phone."

Steve turned to walk up the hill. "And that is why I'm leaving. So I won't have to listen to comments from the Peanut Gallery."

"What's a peanut gallery?" Grace asked her dad.

"I think he's just going to use the bathroom," Danny said. "I bet there's a roll of toilet paper in one of those big pockets."

Grace snickered when the words, "I heard that," drifted down to them.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Steve and Catherine had ten minutes on the phone before she needed to end the conversation. One of the other analysts was in the infirmary with a bout of strep so Cath had agreed to take an additional shift, with the stipulation that she could take a break for an expected phone call. Cath had asked him about their date on Sunday but Steve was mum on the subject, saying she would find out on Sunday. No amount of pleading changed his mind and he grinned at her pouting when they hung up the phone.

He hiked to the top of the hill, enjoying the night breeze and listening to the sounds in the forest. Steve stayed on the well-kept path and he hoped there was a good view of the stars. If so, they could bring Grace back up here before bedtime.

His walk was halted when he heard an unexpected sound… a voice calling to him.

"Hey there!" a woman's voice called.

Steve stopped and turned around in surprise as the woman came from a smaller trail off to his right.

"Hello," Steve said in surprise. "I didn't expect anyone else up here tonight."

"Neither did we," she replied. "My friends and I are camping just over the ridge. Are you alone? You could join us—"

"Oh, no, thanks," Steve told her, pointing back the way he came. "I've got friends waiting on me. I just wanted to see the sky through all the trees."

"Well, I hate to tell you, but you won't see anything that direction," she told him, moving to stand between him and the upper portion of the trail. "We've been here a couple of days and there is _**nothing**_ at all to see except the tops of trees. Trust me."

"OK, thanks. So, you are just camping?"

"Yeah, we just needed to get away from things. So… about that invitation. It still stands."

"No, I do need to get back to camp," Steve assured her as he turned to head back down the hill. "Nice meeting you."

"You, too," she said, watching as he went around a bend in the trail.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"Danno, when is Uncle Steve coming back?"

Danny looked at his daughter, trying to hide his own worry. "I'm sure he will be back any minute, Grace. Catherine probably had more time to talk than they thought," he told his daughter with a smile.

He again glanced at the trail Steve wandered off on almost an hour ago. Danny had to admit he was edging closer to being 'officially worried'. At first he thought Steve was simply talking to his girlfriend, but after half an hour Danny doubted his friend would leave them alone for so long.

Now, after almost an hour, Danny was pretty sure something must have happened.

"Danno, don't you have the phone Uncle Chin programmed? Please call Uncle Steve," his daughter begged. "Because I don't want to go to bed without saying goodnight." Danny was sure he could hear a slight quiver in her voice.

He reached for the phone to dial his partner, surprised when it rang in his hand.

Danny looked at his daughter again, identical looks of surprise on their faces.

"Where the heck are you?" Danny asked as he answered the call.

"Hey, Danno. There's something sort of weird up here." Steve spoke quietly.

"Hold it right now. Only you can take a walk in the woods and call saying there is something weird. Where are you?"

"Not far, but I'm going to—AAH!"

Danny heard a ping, then the sound of the phone hitting the rocks. "Steve?"

A millisecond later, he spoke again, his voice loud in the silent jungle.

"STEVE?"

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Questions:

1.) What do you think Nigel is looking for?

2.) Did Steve double back to find the girl's camp site?

I will do my absolute best to not take two weeks before posting the next chapter. This was just totally unacceptable and I apologize for the length of time that has passed. I hope you are still willing to participate by answering the questions. Since this is a holiday week here in the U.S. I understand that many people won't be on their computers reading fan fiction, but I need a deadline for sending in your answers. So, if possible I would like to have the answers to the above two questions by Monday, July 8 at 5 p.m. EST.

Thanks!

_**~~~H50~~~**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Pala Pala Pa'ani**_

_**Chapter 3**_

_**We had 27 comments for Chapter 2. Everyone said that "of course Steve went to check out the girl and what she was hiding". I guess that was a no-brainer with Steve involved, right?**_

_**As for what Nigel is up to, these are some of your wonderful ideas: **_

_**Searching for ancient treasure (top contender)**_

_**Searching for old artifacts**_

_**Searching for something his father may have buried**_

_**Searching for Captain Cook's treasure**_

_**Searching for either a dead body or evidence of an old crime**_

_**Searching for a cache of diamonds**_

_**Searching for an old burial site**_

_**Searching for a deed for a piece of land**_

_**Setting up a sport hunting expedition to hunt humans **_

_**And my personal favorite, searching for the cursed Tiki statue from The Brady Bunch!**_

_**Be patient, my friends…**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**Three Days Ago**_

Nigel was content as he leaned back in his camp chair and perused his domain. Things were going just according to plan. The camp site had been set up to perfection the day before and his minions had risen early to begin their dig.

And they were now happily digging in the dirt.

Nigel looked at his spotless, buffed fingernails, knowing that not one speck of dirt would dare to infiltrate. Tedious, manual labor was _**not**_ Nigel's way of life.

There were plenty of others to do that.

So far, everything had gone without a hitch. The three students, Michael, Aku and Sabrina each had picked up a rental truck Nigel had rented online by using their identities and licenses. He had made copies of all their personal papers when they were hired so **that no** paper trail **could be** linked back to him. Once everything had been packed, they all drove to the site, using a now-closed back entrance to Waimea Canyon. At one point, Riku had to get out and use a machete to untangle the jungle away from the path, but by entering from the back way, there had been no nosy park rangers or other campers around.

And Nigel intended to keep it that way.

The dig site was hidden by a beautiful waterfall and Nigel allowed the rush of water to relax him. He could hear the excited voices of the students as they worked, anticipating the "find of a lifetime" that he had promised. What they didn't know was that once they found their goal, their usefulness would be over.

He had it all mapped in his head. Once the vehicles were packed, he would call them, one by one, into his tent for 'payment'. Riku would be the person issuing what they were due. All nice and quietly, of course. Two bodies and two trucks would remain on site, with the third student and his or her vehicle disappearing. Riku would drive the third truck with the body inside out of the park while Nigel himself drove the Escalade. When the two bodies were found, the third would be long gone at the bottom of the ocean.

And nothing would track back to Nigel. Because essentially… he wasn't even here.

Nigel smiled. Yes, it _**was**_ good to be King.

~~~H50~~~

_**Two Days Ago**_

Steve told the young blonde goodnight and turned to head back down the trail in the direction he came. He could feel her eyes watching his back as he walked and kept a steady pace until the path curved toward the left. At that time, he quickly and quietly left the trail, disappearing into the thickness of the jungle. Steve waited patiently for a few moments and was rewarded for his time.

The blonde had followed him down the trail to the first curve and stopped mere feet in front of him before turning and walking back to the top of the hill.

Steve knew a scouting party when he saw one. That girl was so out of place up here, it was ridiculous. She did _**not**_ belong here. Yes, she did have on hiking boots… new ones, in fact, but no one in his or her right mind would traipse through the jungle, especially after dark, in skimpy little shorts.

He knew she didn't belong here, but he wanted to determine why she was here and _**what**_ she was doing… before she got herself or anyone else into trouble.

And besides, let's face it. He was intrigued.

Steve was careful. He knew wherever they were they could see the upper trail where he had been walking. And he also guessed that if he made it to the top of the trail, he could see them. Whoever "they" were.

So, he did what any stealth-minded person would do; Steve stayed to the side of the trail, where the trees sheltered him from view. He knew she had been lying about not seeing the stars from the top of the peak because he had been here before and knew the trees had not grown that much in the time he had been gone. In fact, there were spots which were sparse enough on this trail where the moon could guide him.

The down side of not staying directly on the trail was that the climb was more strenuous and he pulled himself up between two rocks before finally peering down into the valley. He found the campsite easily; there were lights and he heard the rough hum of a generator or two. He remembered the waterfall from a hike here with his family. They had made the trip not long before his mom had di… left them. Mary had been maybe eleven years old and she had whined the entire time about being hot and sticky, so when they had reached the water, his dad had picked her up and tossed her in. After laughing at her surprise, they had all jumped in, clothes and all.

Steve shook his head to rid himself of the memories. That was a long time ago and he considered it to be another lifetime. Back before he had learned his entire life had been a deceit of some sort or another.

He spotted the girl talking to a middle-aged man seated in a camp chair, wearing creased khakis, a Panama hat on his head. She was animated, pointing to the mountain and Steve was sure she was talking about him. He could see no one else, but there were four tents set around the area and a lot of equipment stacked about although he couldn't see any work being done. With the generators casting light over the water, he was surprised no one was working at night.

Working at what, he wasn't sure. But whatever it was, it was illegal. This was a state park and it was prohibited to remove anything from the park system. And if these people were here legally, they certainly didn't haul in the generators and equipment through the ranger's station. That would have been a huge red flag with the ranger on duty. In fact, when Steve and Danny had arrived earlier in the day, the ranger checked the back of their truck to make sure they didn't carry in anything unauthorized. So those generators didn't come in the normal way. Steve knew there were other roads to the park that had been closed in the past due to natural disasters. He assumed they used one of those.

Steve was going to try and get closer, but first glanced at his watch and realized he had been gone for almost an hour. He knew Danny would be 'rationally concerned' that he wasn't back, so he pulled out the satellite phone from one of his numerous pockets, and dialed the number Chin had programmed for Danny.

"Where the heck are you?" Danny asked as he answered the call.

"Hey, Danno. There's something sort of weird up here," Steve spoke quietly into the phone.

"Hold it right now. Only you can take a walk in the woods and call saying there is something weird. Where are you?"

"Not far, but I'm going to—AAH!"

Steve was surprised when the rock in front of him shattered, raining shards of sharp stone on him. One rather large chunk of rock slammed his right wrist, causing him to drop the phone which bounced and slid down the embankment to land in the brush below.

He flattened himself on the path and tried to see where the silenced shot had come from, without any luck. But he quickly heard voices and decided he had to get away from where he was. And in doing so, he needed to get these people as far away as he could from Danny and Grace.

He glanced toward the scruffy underbrush where his phone had fallen and wished there was time to search for it before taking off, but the voices were getting closer. He bear-crawled on the path before heading into the brush, then stood and took off in the opposite direction of the secret camp and his unknown pursuers.

~~~H50~~~

"Steve?"

Danny stared at his phone as if willing it to talk to him.

"Danno, what's wrong?"

"Steven?"

Danny received nothing but silence in his ear. Grace had stood and was tugging on his shirt. "Danno, what happened? Where's Uncle Steve?"

He finally shook himself out of his stupor. "I don't know, Monkey. I think Uncle Steve dropped the phone."

"Why? What happened to him?"

"Gracie, I don't know." He ended the call and tried to dial Steve's number, receiving the canned voice from the manufacturer saying "leave a message". He cancelled that call as well. "He's not answering."

Danny looked toward the top of the hill, wondering what his partner had stumbled across. Leave it to Steve to find trouble wherever he went.

"What are we going to do?"

He glanced down at Grace and hugged her close to him. "We are going to get help," Danny assured her. "It's probably nothing and Steve will come back traipsing down the mountain in no time, but in case he did have a problem, we need to be ready. All right, Monkey?"

"Yes, do we go back to the ranger's station?"

"You bet we do," he started, then realized he didn't have keys to the rented truck. "Unless Uncle Steve took the keys with him."

"No, I watched him, Danno. He locked his gun in the glove compartment and put the keys under the seat." She paused, then looked at her father, her eyes wide in realization. "Uncle Steve might need his gun and it's here…"

"Hey, this is your Uncle Steve we're talking about. He'll be fine."

Danny took Grace's hand and walked her toward the truck, wishing he believed that last statement.

~~~H50~~~

Steve did his best not to disturb the jungle around him, but he could still hear people behind him, tracking. And they weren't worried about being quiet, making him believe they were amateurs. Although amateurs with high-powered rifles were just as dangerous as professionals. And amateurs with something to hide were as dangerous as they came.

He was carefully working on a plan as he paced himself around the mountain. It was time to turn the tables on them and become the aggressor. Two against one were certainly doable odds, and he had easily handled more than that on several occasions. And two armed aggressors against a SEAL and his trusty knife were fairly even odds. If they weren't running around on top of a mountain, that is.

Steve found the perfect place to dig in and wait. He was near the very top of the rocky outcropping but there was a wide expanse of scruffy brush clinging for dear life to the rock's surface. He squeezed in behind the tangle of vines, watching belatedly for the thorns attached, and waited. He heard one of his pursuers farther down and heard his voice, realizing they were using walkie talkies to communicate. Just a few moments later, the second man came into view, a high-powered rifle slung over his shoulder. He paused and looked around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

"Any sign, Aku?" Steve heard through the radio.

"Nothing here," the man nearest Steve replied. "Did we lose him?"

A third voice crackled through the radios. "If you have lost him, I would suggest that you keep on walking and do not return to this camp empty-handed, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Sir," Michael hastily agreed. "He's here and we'll find him."

"Then see that you do. I am anxious to find out who our friend is and why he is so interested in us. I will be waiting to meet him, so carry on."

"Of course, Sir," Aku replied. Steve watched and scanned the area below him, waiting for an appropriate time to strike. The man set down the rifle to put away his radio and Steve assumed it was because he didn't want the 'boss' listening in on their conversation. But the man was now vulnerable and in a silent move, Steve was out from behind the brush and came up behind him, one arm wrapped around his neck and the other holding his right arm in a vice grip behind his back.

"Quiet," Steve hissed. "Call for your friend and it will be the last sound you make. Now, what are you doing up here?"

The man bucked in Steve's grip, but Steve didn't budge, although his arm tightened on the man's neck. "What. Are. You. Doing."

"He'll kill me," the young man replied in a strangled voice.

"Not my problem," Steve replied. In the background, Steve heard the skittering of small rocks and he whipped his prisoner around to make sure the other man hadn't doubled back and headed to the top of the mountain. There were a few small rocks and scattered tree parts around, apparently that had come down in a recent rain storm, but he didn't hear the other man.

They heard a creaking noise, but by the time Steve had a chance to react to it, it was too late.

The ground that had looked stable and solid just a second ago suddenly opened up and took everything with it down the path. Rocks, branches, and scrub, along with Steve and the man he was detaining.

In the first tumble, Steve released the other man and quickly lost sight of him before going head over heels. He cried out when he was hit by one of the bigger rocks and tried to protect is head as best he could and at the same time to control his fall. But he didn't have much of a chance. Anyone who would have witnessed it wouldn't even been able to discern the humans from the sliding mountain side.

The descent seemed to take forever but finally Steve was stopped by a tree that stood in his path. Unfortunately it was a rather sudden stop and when his back crashed into the tree the impact took his breath away. His vision was graying at the edges and Steve lost his battle with consciousness when another rock slammed into the side of his head.

Steve blinked and tried to clear his head of the lingering fog clouding his brain. He lay on his stomach for a moment to catch his breath. He slowly turned on his side, hissing at the pain emitting from his lower back. He reached up and felt his aching head, his fingers coming away wet and sticky. _Must've hit a rock on my way down._ As soon as the thought popped into his mind, he realized how stupid that was. Not only did he get hit with numerous rocks, he hit a friggin' tree. Wary of injuries, he slowly sat up and gingerly leaned back against the tree.

It was dark and Steve could barely see three feet around him. Add to that his blurred vision and he had trouble making out his surroundings. He had a flashlight in a pocket but he didn't want to give away his position. He was now a sitting duck. He looked down at his leg in what dim light he had, expecting it to be twisted like a pretzel, but was surprised that it looked whole. At least to his wonky vision, but it sure didn't feel fine. Steve gently tugged at his pant leg and hissed even more when he moved his right leg in the process. What he saw was not good, but by far not as bad as he had expected.

The whole lower leg was already swollen above his boot and he could feel abrasions on the outside of it. For a second he wondered how that had happened when his pants were not torn_. Well, at least it's not broken. Yet_, Steve added as an afterthought. But he was sure that he would sport spectacular dark bruises in a little while.

He stretched out his hurting leg and looked up at the hill he just slid down. _You didn't slide down, that was more of a tumble than anything else_. Steve cursed, but had to agree with his inner voice. His tumble down the slope could have ended a lot worse. He could have been buried under a ton of earth, rock and brush. But he got away with more or less serious bruising.

He looked as far as he could see in the dark and wondered where the other guy had landed. Steve hoped the person was hurting as much as he was.

He leaned back against the tree, trying to ease the pain in his head and body. It took a few moments before he realized he could hear voices, and he listened closely before realizing they were coming from the walkie talkie.

"Aku, dammit, answer me!" A frantic voice was heard on the nearby radio. "Aku, come in. Michael to Aku, come in."

A moment later, the "boss'" voice came over the speaker. "Mr. Morrison, I fear that our Aku may have run into difficulty, but searching at night is futile. Return to camp immediately and at first light tomorrow, you and Riku can search for both your friend and the intruder. Nothing more can be done tonight."

"But, Sir, with this slide, I don't know if I can make it back to camp," the man whined. "I'm afraid I'll end up down the mountain, too."

"My dear Mr. Morrison, travel upward to the top of the ridge and then over. Once you reach the top, I assure you that you can see our lights. Now get back here pronto."

"Yes, Sir," Michael's voice replied, not sounding very sure of himself.

Steve remained still for several minutes longer before feeling in his pocket for the flashlight, praying it was still intact. He knew it was still in his pocket because he could feel a bruise on his leg from where the flashlight had hit in his trip down the mountain. He flicked on the light, shielding it with his hand for a few moments before shining it onto his own legs. His swollen right leg was mottled red and he knew he would have impressive bruising before long. It hurt like a bitch, but he was pretty sure nothing was broken. Holding onto the tree, he slowly made his way to his feet. At least he could put his weight on it without it crumbling under him. Steve leaned against the tree that had so painfully stopped his downslide and fleetingly wished he still had his phone.

He flashed the light in an arc in front of him, searching for any sign of the other man. He didn't see him, but the light did pick up the small black radio. Steve let go of the tree and hobbled a few feet to his right then reached down for it. Dizziness rushed over him in a wave of heat and he stumbled sideways, trying to catch himself before he fell flat on his face. "Shit," he breathed, squeezing his eyes shut after he landed hard on both knees. He waited for a few moments, just breathing in through his mouth, trying to will away the red and black spots dancing across his line of sight.

When he could see again, he slowly reached down and retrieved the radio. He couldn't use it, but he could listen to the ones who were searching for him. And he might find a use for it later.

Steve knew it would be suicide to attempt to make it down the mountain tonight. He had covered a lot of ground while heading away from Danny and Grace and after the tumble down the hill he didn't have a firm grasp on his bearings. But he had to find someplace other than the tree to rest until daylight.

He thought back to his short conversation with Danny and hoped that his partner realized that there was a problem up here so that he could get Grace as far away as possible. Steve felt confident that he would do so, hopefully heading back to the ranger's station and calling for help.

Another copse of brush was on the outskirts of where Steve landed and he once again got down on his knees to ease himself inside. He propped his aching body against a tree and leaned his head back. He hit the light on his watch to see the time, but nothing happened. Using the flashlight, he saw that the watch crystal was cracked and that the tumble had occurred at 11:35 p.m. He was thankful that he had changed into one of his old… and cheap… watches for the trip and wasn't wearing the diver's watch that had been a gift from Cath.

Cath.

_McGarrett, you have an important date with a pretty lady in less than 48 hours so you had better get your carcass off this mountain and back to civilization soon. Or this might be your last anniversary!_

Steve grinned at the thought as his eyes drooped. _Falling down a mountain sure saps your energy _was his last conscious thought.

~~~H50~~~

_**Question: What do you think Danny does with Grace while he searches for Steve?**_

_**Please have comments back to me by Friday, July 19 at 5 p.m.  
**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Pala Pala Pa'ani**_

_**Chapter 4**_

_**As of 7.20.13 – 20 replies. Thank you to everyone who is continuing to play this 'game'. I really appreciate all the input, although I will admit that this is much harder to write than I thought it would be! Thank you for sticking with it!**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**Two Days Ago**_

Just like Grace had said, the keys were on the floorboard under the driver's seat. Danny had taken Grace to the truck and locked the doors, making her promise to stay there while he doused their campfire and grabbed a few essentials from the camp – Grace's sleeping bag and their backpacks. They could come back for the tents later.

Once the gear was quickly stowed, he climbed into the truck and dialed Chin, realizing it had to be past midnight. He started the truck and confirmed the time by the clock on the dash.

"Kelly."

Danny heard the TV in the background and knew that Chin was still up and capable of action. "Chin, we've got a problem."

"What's going on?" The sound on the TV was silenced and Chin became more alert.

"Steve went for a walk in this ginormous jungle and was gone for a while, but then called and said that something was weird. Right after that, it sounded like he dropped the phone. I can't get him to answer. Grace and I are heading to the ranger station now. Do you think you—"

"I'll head over to headquarters. Let me run a trace on the phone and I'll call you back. Call me if you hear anything when you get to the station. Hopefully the phone just lost connection and he'll be back at your camp site soon."

"Yeah, maybe," Danny replied, not sounding convinced at all.

"Let me see what I can find and I'll get back with you," Chin told him. "Don't start going crazy yet. There could be a very logical explanation for this."

"You_** do**_ know who we're talking about, don't you?"

Danny set down the phone and glanced at his daughter while maneuvering the truck around a curve. "Don't look so scared, Grace. We'll find him."

"I know," she admitted.

Danny blew out his breath when he realized he needed help with his daughter. "I brought your sleeping bag and you can sleep in the truck tonight, Monkey. I'll be right there with you, so don't worry. And if Steve doesn't show up before morning, then I'll call someone to come get you, OK? Your Mom won't be back from Vegas until Sunday."

"I'll be OK tonight," Grace assured her dad, then bit her lip. "Danno?"

"What's wrong?"

"There's something I sort of didn't tell you and I don't want you to be mad.

He slowed the truck and looked at her. "Why would I be mad?"

"Well, we sort of wanted it to be a surprise…"

"We? Who's we?"

Grace came clean. "Remember Lucy from our Aloha Girls campout?"

Danny nodded his head. "Yeah, I definitely remember Lucy."

"She was going geocaching with her mom and dad this weekend and when I told her we were coming here, she talked her parents into coming here, too. Her parents didn't want to camp out – after last time," Grace said almost in a whisper, remembering their last trip through the jungle and what Lucy had told her later about her time with Steve. "But they will be here in the morning. We were going to sort of… well, we wanted to bump into each other so we could explore together. Do you think we can still meet them? If we don't, Lucy won't know what happened to me."

Danny shook his head. "I think maybe we can work something out once we get to the Ranger's Station. But Grace, you don't have to keep secrets from me… you know that."

"I know, Danno, but Lucy sort of wanted to surprise Uncle Steve, too. I think she has a huge crush on him," Grace told her father with a grin.

"Oh yeah?" Danny muttered. "Fancy that. Lucy and half the rest of Hawaii's population. You _**did**_ tell her that Steve already has a girlfriend, didn't you?"

"Uh huh, but I can't use the word 'girlfriend' 'cause Uncle Steve gets all weird about it," she told him, then paused before adding, "I just hope he's OK."

"Yeah, me, too," he replied as he pulled into the ranger's station. The building itself was dark, but a bright porch light and well-lit parking lot welcomed them. Together they left the truck and walked to the door.

~~~H50~~~

"Give me your report," Nigel demanded when Michael returned to the camp site. "Tell me how the hell you lost him. And Aku. Where did he disappear?"

Michael set down his cross bow and calmly reached for a bottle of water which Nigel quickly knocked from his hands.

"I asked you a question."

The student glared at Nigel, his fists doubling in anger. He watched from the corner of his eye as Riku moved in closer to their boss, his stance one of protection.

Michael slowly shook his head. "I don't know where he is and I don't know what happened to Aku. As you heard, he quit answering the radio. Why, I don't know. And before you ask, I have _**no**_ idea who this person is we were tracking, and I don't know why he is in the park. But now I have questions of my own. Why are you so concerned about him?" He pointed to the waterfall behind him. "Just what is so important behind this rock that you are willing to kill for… before you even know the person's intentions?"

Nigel walked closer, a calculating look on his face. "You, Mr. Addison, were hired to work on this dig. At this point in time, what we are seeking is not your concern. But in addition to your archaeology expertise, you were chosen for your finesse, shall we say, in weaponry. I do believe I mentioned that your skills might be needed on this trip."

"I wasn't expecting to hunt down a man that we know nothing about!" Michael yelled.

Nigel held up his hand. "I must insist that you calm yourself, Mr. Addison. Sabrina is working on the site. Since Mr. Palmi is unaccounted for, I would appreciate it if you go and help her. Time is of the utmost importance."

"All I can say is that I had better be paid well for this little job when it is completed," Michael warned.

"Oh, Mr. Addison, I assure you, that won't be a problem," Nigel said to the young man's retreating back.

~~~H50~~~

Rangers Emmett and Ruth Dawson had gathered Danny and Grace into their cabin which was nestled among the trees on the edge of the park's property. Ruth and Grace were at the kitchen table putting marshmallows into cups of hot chocolate.

Danny and Emmett were on the screened-in back porch, each with a cup of hot coffee.

"So, you don't think your partner just got turned around and couldn't find his way back to camp?" Emmett asked.

Danny took a sip of coffee and shook his head. "You need to understand, Sir. My partner is a Navy SEAL and head of the governor's task force."

"Five-0?" the ranger asked and continued at Danny's nod. "I've heard about you guys. You've done a good job."

"Thank you."

"So, this partner of yours is Commander McGarrett?"

"Yes, Sir."

Emmett looked into the darkness. "Well, there isn't much we can do until daybreak other than get prepared for the trip. You said he isn't answering his phone?"

"No he didn't pick up, but I have another colleague trying to pinpoint the phone's location. He's supposed to call when he has something."

"Good. That will narrow the search and give us a starting point."

"What time do you think we'll head out?" Danny asked. "I need to get someone here to take care of Grace."

"Nonsense," Emmett replied, looking to the two females chatting at the kitchen table. "Ruth will be happy to watch her. Our two girls are grown now and Ruth misses the female companionship."

"Thank you, I appreciate that. I told Grace she could sleep in her sleeping bag in the truck, so I'll go fix her bed," Danny replied.

Emmett waved him off. "We have spare rooms here. Do me a favor and let Ruth take over. She is good with kids and is forever driving our girls crazy asking for grandkids."

"Well, if you're sure," Danny replied, watching as Grace was telling Ruth a story, her hands animating it as she talked. _Wonder where she learned that?_ Danny thought with a grin.

"Let's just concentrate on finding your partner," Emmett said.

"Agreed." Danny quickly reached for his ringing phone, hoping the caller would be his wayward partner but it was Chin instead.

"Hey, Chin."

"Any news?" the lieutenant quickly asked.

"No, nothing. How about you?"

"Steve's phone is on and is stationary. I have a good lock on the signal."

"Good. We're going to head out at first light so can you send me the coordinates?"

"I'll do you one better," Chin Ho replied. "Kono and I are gearing up and will head your direction as soon as we arrange transport. We should be there by day break."

"You don't need—"

"Danny, you and I both know something is wrong. No way would Steve leave you and Grace in the jungle unless he couldn't get back."

Danny paused and then sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'll see you soon." He hung up the phone and turned to Emmett. "The rest of our team is on the way. They agree that Steve has to be in trouble."

"We'll find him," the ranger assured him. "But the best thing we can do is get some rest before morning. Come on and I'll introduce you to a bunk."

~~~H50~~~

_**One Day Ago**_

Steve jerked awake and held his breath, trying to quickly figure out his situation. In his lifetime he had been accustomed to waking up in odd locations and strange predicaments, only this time he had to search his memory for the reason.

And at the moment, his memory was pretty fuzzy.

He dared not move. He knew he was in a blind for a reason; he was hiding. He glanced up and could still see stars between the trees. The sky was changing to a purplish hue from the darkness of total night. Daybreak would soon be here.

Steve attempted to take stock of his aching body… and soon realized that he should just chalk it up to two words: "it hurt". Suddenly the memory of tumbling head over heels down the mountain side invaded his brain and he closed his eyes in relief. At least he knew why he felt as shitty as he did.

He had heard nothing other than the sounds of a normal jungle waking up for the day. Birds were cooing and flapping and he knew if there was a danger nearby, they would be on alert. Since his body was screaming for him to move, he sat up from his perch against the unforgiving rock and tried to roll his stiff shoulders.

Not the smartest move ever and he had to bite back the groan that wanted to escape. Steve remembered falling with another person and he didn't want to alert his presence until he knew what was going on. That is _**if**_ the other guy survived the fall. He hadn't heard anything the night before to suggest anyone else was around.

Steve looked at his torn and shredded clothing and was thankful he had worn a shirt over his tee shirt that had marginally protected his arms. They were still scraped and cut and he saw splinters that he had no desire to try and pull out. His pants had managed to survive the fall intact and he pulled up the pants leg to get his first good look at his right ankle. Not bad, considering how it felt last night. The limb was still swollen and the redness from last night was now a vivid purple and blue bruise. He didn't think it was broken, but he definitely had messed something up in there.

The darkness was slowly fading and Steve could see more of his surroundings. He pushed aside the bush he was behind and looked up the mountain he had fallen down. Calling it a mountain was generous, but since he could feel every bump and rock on some portion of his anatomy, he deemed it a mountain. That was his prerogative.

"OK, McGarrett," he mumbled. "Get up and move."

He gripped the bush with one hand and steadied himself against the rock and managed to get upright. Steve had to lean against the rock while sucking in a breath to keep from passing out. His head had been pounding since he woke up, but his vision grayed as soon as he stood. Even with his eyes squeezed tightly shut, he could feel the swimming sensation of vertigo.

"Crap."

He didn't dare allow himself to sit back down because he didn't know if he would be able to make it back up. Carefully he opened his eyes once again and blinked, managing to bring the world back into focus. He saw the walkie talkie at his feet and slowly leaned over to pick it up, keeping one hand firmly on the rock. Snaring it by the antenna, he stood and stepped away from his cover, taking slow, shuffling steps. His right ankle took his weight, but it didn't feel sturdy at all. Glancing around, he didn't see anything he could use as a crutch, but he paused, seeing a leg near the base of a tree. The rest of the body was hidden from view by a rock and some brush.

Carefully, he walked that direction, moving to the other side of the brush to get a look at the upper body. It didn't take more than one glance to know that this person didn't survive. By the angle of his head, his neck had snapped somewhere along the trip down.

Looking around and back up the way he fell, Steve realized again how very lucky he was to only have aches and pains and a gimpy leg.

Although that leg would impede his progress in his return to camp. He decided that would be his goal since by now, he knew that Danny would have taken Grace out of there. And, when he hadn't shown back up, he knew Danny would have called in their team. The camp was on the other side of this mountain, but he would travel around the base of it, hoping to come across his team or someone other than the men searching for him. He knew that both parties would soon be out looking for him; he just needed to make sure the good guys caught up with him first.

Steve knew the men from last night would probably start at the top of the hill and work their way down; therefore he would head out of the clearing. He turned away from the dead man, Aku, and began his slow trek. A few yards from the body, he found something that made him smile.

Aku's rifle. _At least he had some good news._ With a quick check he found that it had a near full clip in it and appeared in working order.

The tables had turned just a bit in his favor.

~~~H50~~~

"I've got something!" Sabrina shouted, showing Michael her find.

"Let me see," he replied, standing and reaching for the cup in her hand. It was filled with what looked to be very old coins, but they would need to be authenticated elsewhere.

Polishing a bit of the cup with his shirt, he grinned at her. "Silver. Maybe the old man does know what he's talking about. Here you go, make his day."

The two of them stepped out from behind the waterfall and crossed the pool of water on the rocks before jumping to dry ground at the campsite. By the time they had reached the site, Nigel was waiting for them, bouncing on his toes in anticipation, his face with the first smile they had seen.

"Please. Hand it over," he ordered, reaching for the artifact with his white gloved hand. "I knew it," he whispered, examining the cup and picking up the coins. "And there will be more where this came from. Much, much more."

Nigel carefully handed the cup to Michael. "Mr. Addison, please place it safely in one of the containers. Sabrina, please continue your work. See what else you can find for me."

"Dr. Harrington, I have been working all night; I need rest."

"Ah, my dear one," he told her while turning her around toward the pool of water. "There will be ample time to rest when the treasure is ours. Just think of the joy you will have with a job well done. Now," he pushed her forward. "Get back to work."

"Mr. Addison, you must continue your job from last night since it is nearing full daylight. Find that dreadful man and bring him back to me."

Michael had returned from putting the cup in a safe place. "Now?" he asked. "I mean, Sabrina and I have been up all night. What have _**you**_ been doing?"

"What I have done is none of your concern. Your concern is doing a good job for me, so please do as I ask and find. That. Man."

Michael reached for his crossbow and glared at both Nigel and Riku who had come to stand beside him. "Yes, Sir," he bit out as he turned and headed out of camp.

~~~H50~~~

Steve managed to get away from the clearing and in doing so, attempted to cover his tracks but he knew an experienced tracker could find his trail. He was counting on the men in that camp to not be experienced. He had made some headway when the radio clipped to his pants spluttered with static.

"Go ahead, Mr. Addison. Repeat."

The tinny voice said, "Aku is dead. The fall… oh, god," The rest of the words were stifled by the sounds of retching before the switch was released.

"Well, if Mr. Palmi is dead, there is little you can do for him. Do you see evidence of the other person?"

"No. Wait. Maybe."

"Then I suggest you search for him. Riku and I will attempt to corner him from the other direction."

_Damn,_ Steve thought. He had little choice but to keep moving.

Something that was becoming increasingly hard to do. Between his aching head, the constant dizziness and his ankle which was now swollen to twice its normal size, walking in a straight line was something he could no longer do. In fact, walking in general was quickly becoming a chore.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**Question: Steve is injured. Does he continue walking, hoping to connect with his team or does he set up a trap for the bad guys? **_

_**Please share your answers with me via the "Review" button no later than Saturday, July 27 at 5 p.m. Eastern time.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Notes: I know you guys have just given up on this story, but I promise I *will* finish it. I sent the last chapter out at the end of July and went into the hospital that night. After all that mess was over, for some reason I couldn't even concentrate on getting this chapter written. I apologize for that. I have the next chapter started, so hopefully the story will come much quicker from now on. I was beginning to think they had sucked out my muse along with my gall bladder. :)**_

_**It has been a while since I've thanked my betas, Sockie and Sym. You have no idea how much they add to what I have written, making it so much better for you to read!**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**Pala Pala Pa'ani**_

_**Chapter 5**_

"_Then I suggest you search for him. Riku and I will attempt to corner him from the other direction."_

Nigel set the radio on an upturned crate he was using for a table. Then he kicked the crate, toppling the radio and his journal. "Riku, I fear this unknown gentleman has caused all sorts of problems for us," he said while reaching for one of the weapons Aku had brought with him. He caressed the cold metal. "I fear it is up to me to clean up this mess."

His mute manservant calmly set the crate back in place then picked up the radio and journal. He was used to these 'fits', as he termed them, and didn't react when this one occurred.

Nigel looked at the campsite and sighed. "Riku, it is time for Plan B. While I told Mr. Addison that you and I would search for this intruder, I have changed my mind." He patted the rifle in his hand. "I wish you to remain here and begin the clean up. You know what to do with the vehicles. Just make sure no one finds them. But for the time being, leave Sabrina to her work. Ensure that you get whatever she finds and place it into the protective crates. If she stays put, no one should find her back there, although," Nigel sighed, "she is another problem we will probably have to clean up today."

Nigel looked around his beloved campsite and shook his head. This was _**not**_ how he had intended to begin his day.

Riku bowed his head in acceptance of his work. Tearing down the camp would be much more desirable than hiking around in the jungle looking for an unknown person. And then killing said person. Riku was tired of the senseless killing. Unfortunately, his 'owner' looked at the activity as a sport.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"The phone should be just ahead," Chin told them after checking the GPS tracker once more. "Somewhere around here," he added, looking at the small path they were standing on. The small group consisting of Danny, Kono, Ranger Dawson and himself had left the ranger station shortly after dawn, driving as close as they could to the location the GPS had picked up. From the road, they had begun their trek up the mountainside.

Chin pointed to the shards of rock that had been chipped from the boulder in front of them. "Look at this. I would bet it was caused by a ricochet." He checked out the small pieces of rock on the path, touching one with his finger. "I've got blood."

"Where?" Danny asked, kneeling down next to his friend.

"Just a smear," Chin assured him, picking up the rock in a pair of rubber gloves and placing it into a small evidence bag.

Danny looked from the rock face down to the shards on the path. "Looks like this is where he ran into trouble. But there's no sign of what happened from here."

"Hey!" Kono called from her position several feet below them. "I found the phone. But I can't reach it," she added, a little frustrated.

"Let me help," Emmett told her, moving down the path and pulling back some brush so she could crawl behind it.

Kono retrieved the phone and they converged back at the top of the trail. She immediately checked Steve's calls, noting only one to Catherine and the one to Danny. "Nothing here," she told them. "Any ideas?" she asked Chin who was still checking the trail.

"I don't see evidence of anything, but if Steve needed to hide his tracks, he could do it and no one could find him. He's the best I've seen… at both hunting and tracking."

"So… which way?" Danny asked while Emmett cocked his head.

"Listen!" The ranger turned his head before moving up and around the boulder to check out the valley below. "Did you hear a car?"

"Do you see anything?" Danny asked, choosing carefully his path up the boulder.

"No, but I'm sure I heard a vehicle. The only road in that direction has been closed for almost two years, so there shouldn't be any cars back there. I'll call it in and have someone check it out. Why don't we try to pick up a trail from your missing fella?"

"This way," Chin decided after carefully checking the plant life around them.

"Lead on," Danny told him, falling in behind Kono with Emmett on their six.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"Grace! I'm over here," Lucy waved as she got out of her car, followed by her parents. The two girls raced towards each other and hugged in the middle of the parking lot. "Have you found Steve yet?" Lucy asked.

"Not yet," Grace told her, fearfully. "But he's got to be OK because he knows how to survive in places like this. They'll find him," she assured her friend.

"Grace, I'm so glad your dad called us this morning," Lucy's mom told her, giving the young girl a hug as well. "I'm sorry your friend is missing, but I'm glad you and Lucy can work together today."

"Mom, we'd rather stay here instead of going geocaching, OK? We need to wait to hear about Steve."

"Well, I think this morning we can go to the park down the road. That one is on your Aloha Girls Geocache List, too. After that, maybe we can come back here and have our picnic lunch at one of the tables near the ranger station. Grace, your dad said that a lady named Ruth was watching you. Can you point her out so I can check in with her?"

"Sure, Mrs. Chambers, I can show you," Grace replied while pointing out Ruth to Lucy's parents. The ranger was at the gate, helping check in the day campers to the park. Not knowing what was happening on top of the mountain, it was business as usual for the busy state park, although the hikers were asked to watch for a possibly injured hiker out there.

"Lucy, we need to help find Steve," Grace told her friend.

"I know, but how? Mom's going to make us go to the other park because your dad said he wanted you away from here."

"I know he doesn't want me up on the mountain, but maybe if we hurry and find some geocaches, we can get back here before lunch. Ms. Ruth said there are some geocache spots right around the gate here that we can check out, too. If we tell your parents we'll stay close, they should let us come back here. Didn't you say your dad wanted to fish? There's a lake right over there."

"Yeah, he's got his fishing stuff in the car. And mom wants to read, so if we find her a nice swing in the shade, she can sit there."

"We need to watch for anything suspicious and if we pretend we are looking for geocaches, we can keep an eye on everyone. Danno said that Steve told him something was weird. That means he found something going on. We just need to figure out what he saw," Grace explained.

"Maybe if we watch the people who are coming out of the park, we might learn something," Lucy suggested.

"Good idea. Now, let's go get your parents and get this geocache stuff over with. We've got more important things to do."

"Yeah, we have a Steve to find!" Lucy agreed.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Chin and Ranger Dawson alternated taking point and kept up a steady pace through the jungle while traipsing around the mountain. They stopped for a few moments for a break, eating the snacks Ruth had prepared for them.

"The commander was taking a route at the top of the mountain, so I'm guessing he was trying to draw someone away from your campsite down below," the ranger surmised. "But I've got to say, he is good."

"Knowing Steve, that is exactly what he was doing," Danny replied.

Kono added, "He pretty much makes sure everyone else is safe regardless if that would put him in danger. I keep thinking we should have met up with him by now."

"The day's still young," Chin reminded her. "We'll find him."

Danny stood up from the boulder he was sitting on. "And when we do, he's gonna get a good talking to. Next time we are in the jungle, I'm not letting him out of my sight. I don't care if he does want to play kissy-face on the phone with Catherine. Are we ready?"

Chin nodded. "Let's go."

_**~~~H50~~~**_

They had covered more ground in their search when Emmett's radio squawked.

"_Gage to Dawson, come in."_

The group stopped and took a breather while he answered.

"You've got Dawson. Go ahead, Keao."

"_We're at the waterfall and you're right… there has been some activity here. There are several tire tracks but whoever it was has cleared out. We see evidence of four tents and some crates or something, but no one is around. The lock on the gate to the south side was jimmied but there's no way to track cars once they went through the gate."_

"I figured as much. Thanks, Keao. Dawson out."

"_Roger that. Let me know if you need anything else. I'm heading back to the station."_

"Ten-four."

Emmett looked at the group around him. "Sorry, but that led to nothing. Looks like whoever it is has cleared out. But I would really like to know what they were up to." He began walking again, with the trio falling in behind him. "You don't suppose your friend followed them, do you?"

"Not willingly," Danny immediately replied. "I'm certain of that."

"Hold up." Emmett threw up his arm.

Chin immediately moved to his side. "What do you have?"

"Landslide." Dawson pointed down the mountain at the fresh dirt and foliage. "Looks pretty recent… at least in the last day or so. We're getting a lot of these due to the increased rainfall this season." He glanced up at the sky which he had been eying for the last hour. "And speaking of which, it won't be long before we'll need to seek some shelter ourselves. Looks like we're getting another one today."

"We can't leave Steve out here in a storm," Danny exclaimed.

"Son, we won't do him any good if we are hit by a falling tree or end up in a mudslide ourselves. Our best bet is to head back to base and wait out the storm."

Chin interrupted the tirade he knew was beginning. "Danny, he's right. We can't help Steve if we get ourselves into trouble."

Emmett intently surveyed the slide area and then looked back to the darkening sky. He hesitated, looking at the base of the mountain once again before speaking. "What are my chances that you folks will remain here while I check out down below?"

"Why can't we go with you?" Kono asked him.

"Because I want to get down there first. I see a body."

They all turned that direction. Emmett pointed down and to the right. "See that scruffy pine? Move to the left just a hair. That 's a leg."

They found the marker and indeed saw a leg covered in mud.

But unmistakable were the brown boot and cargo pants.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**Question: What do you think Grace and Lucy might discover? Since deadlines seem to do me no good, just get your answer back to me as quickly as you can! And if you've read this far, thank you for reading!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Pala Pala Pa'ani**_

_**Chapter 6**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**I know you don't believe this, but here is another chapter... just a week after I last posted. Yes, miracles still do happen. And what is most amazing is that I'm on vacation and not even home! That isn't to say that I haven't had hurdles to jump over getting the chapter this far. My email wouldn't open on the hotel computer so I used a long-forgotten gmail account and luckily remembered my password to finally get this onto . But I hope you continue to enjoy our little saga. (although I just noticed major formatting glitches, so I hope I catch them all. sorry if I don't.)**_

_**Special thanks once again to my fantastic betas who got this back to me quickly this week. If there was ever any doubt, they are the best! :)**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_But unmistakable were the brown boot and cargo pants._

The path down the mountain was a treacherous one and they all had to watch their footing. Halfway down, Kono said, "It's not Steve."

"For your sakes, I sure hope not," Ranger Dawson replied.

"No, seriously. Steve was wearing gray cargos when you guys left yesterday. Those pants are muddy, but I can tell they aren't gray."

"You're kidding, right?" Danny asked. "You know what color pants Steve was wearing?"

"Well, yeah," Kono said, suddenly selfconcious.

"That's weird."

"Tread carefully, Brah," Chin told him in a low voice. "And I'm not talking about the mountain."

"No, seriously, you keep track of what people wear?"

"OK, it's a girl thing," she defended herself. "Let's just drop it, but I'm telling you, that isn't Steve."

"Of course it's not. No matter what color pants he's wearing."

~~~H50~~~

"His name is Aku Palmi," Chin told them after finding Aku's wallet. "He's a student at UH," Chin explained and held up the young man's ID.

They stared at the mangled body, and didn't need an ME to see the COD. The broken neck was more than obvious.

"Wonder if he was here alone?" Emmett mused.

"Hey!" Kono called from several feet away. "I've got blood here."

They turned and rushed to her side, all three checking out the base of the tree trunk.

"OK, there was someone else here," Danny said, pointing to Aku's body. "Because that man didn't get up and move."

"I'm sure it was Steve," Kono replied, pointing to the broken leaves next to a narrow path. "And we can track him."

"And we need to," Chin told them. "He's injured."

The skies took that opportunity to open up, showering them with fat raindrops that plopped through the leaves above.

"First, we'd best get to some shelter," Emmett told them. "This is gonna be a downpour. And we need to call in this location to pick up his body. Not much we can do for this one now."

"We can't leave," Danny argued once again. "The rain will wipe away any trail Steve has made."

"Maybe so, but whether we're here or not, the trail will be wiped out. Hopefully we can pick it up afterwards," Dawson paused and hoped he could bring his next point home. "This isn't one of Honolulu's afternoon showers, Detective. This is a deluge in a jungle. There is a difference and I can't stress enough that you don't want to be out in it."

Kono looked down the path as the rain continued to gain momentum. "And I'm guessing Steve doesn't want to either."

~~~H50~~~

_On the other side of the mountain…_

Steve knew that the person tracking him wasn't an expert. If he had been, he would have found him a couple hours ago because try as he might, Steve wasn't in stealth mode. His head hurt, his ankle hurt and everything in between chose to join the pity party. He decided his best option was to make a stand.

Which wasn't hard to do. He had been traveling on an old dirt path, but saw another rock slide ahead which he would have to climb over. Another reason to take a stand here.

He slipped into the jungle to wait for his attacker, and rested against a tree, knowing if he sat, he wouldn't want to get up. It wasn't long before the man wandered by, stopping to stare at the barrier in front of him. Steve was quick and came up behind him, the gun touching his attacker's back.

"Drop the crossbow," Steve ordered.

"OK, I will," the young man said, slowly leaning down to set the bow on a rock and raising his arms. "Please don't shoot."

"Why not?" Steve asked, stepping forward a couple of steps to lean against one of the boulders, keeping an eye on the young man. "Looks like you were ready to put one of those arrows in me. What's your name?"

"No, I swear, I wasn't. My name is Michael Addison and I'm an archaeology student at UH. My friend Aku was killed in a rock slide last night." Michael took the opportunity to glance around at Steve, then turned around, his arms still in the air. "Look, I don't know what is going on up here, but I swear I didn't plan to shoot you. I was hired to be a part of a dig and then all of a sudden, last night, the guy we're working for just went nuts wanting to find out who you were and what you were doing up here."

"You said you were on a dig. That's illegal here – it's a state park."

"Nigel had a permit; he showed it to us. But he won't tell us what we're looking for."

"Where were you digging?" Steve asked.

"Behind the waterfall on the north face of the mountain."

Steve shrugged. "I used to play back there when I was a kid. Never knew there was any word about any kind of treasure."

"That's the funny thing. We were promised that this stuff was old. I mean, the way Nigel was talking, I was expecting King Kamehameha's tomb," he shook his head. "But trust me, that isn't the case."

"Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, this morning. There was a silver cup and some gold and silver coins. I have to say that the find looked promising until I placed it in the crate for safekeeping. I rubbed on the silver cup and found the words 'Made in Hong Kong, 1953" stamped on the bottom."

"LIES!" A gunshot pinged off a rock in front of them.

They both turned toward the voice on the other side of the rock slide, and Steve hit the dirt beneath him, leveling his weapon that direction. Michael reached for his crossbow when Steve yelled, "down."

Steve searched but couldn't see the person who had yelled to them. So even though he knew it wouldn't work, he tried the easy route. "My name is Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett of Five-0. Throw down your weapon and show me your hands."

"It is **_my_** treasure, not yours. But it isn't Kamehameha's storehouse; this is Captain Cook's bounty. And Mr. Addison apparently thinks he can keep it all to himself. I promise you that will never happen."

"Nigel, it isn't real treasure. It's nothing. I swear."

"Again lies. You betrayed me, Mr. Addision, and I don't take betrayal well."

Another shot came closer and Steve was able to see Nigel's location. Not that he could actually see the man who was under jungle cover.

"I'm warning you, come out with your hands up."

"I don't think so. Not when I have the upper hand." He began firing once again, and Steve returned fire.

"Stay down," Steve ordered Michael.

"I'm trying, but those shots are getting closer.

"Get on your belly and move closer to me," Steve ordered.

"Yes, Sir," he said, then screamed out in pain. Michael dropped the crossbow and fell to the ground near Steve.

"AHH!" The bow's loaded arrow discharged when Michael dropped it; the arrow embedding in Steve's lower left side.

"Oh, God, Oh, God," Michael screamed. "I didn't mean to—"

"Shut up!" Steve told him, turning his head to look at the student. "How bad are you hurt?"

"Hurts like crazy," Michael told him and crawled next to Steve when another folly of shots came from Nigel.

"Doesn't look too bad," Steve told him. "Take off your shirt and wrap part of it around your arm." To keep Nigel busy, he fired again, not knowing if Nigel had moved position or not.

Addison took off his tee shirt and wrapped it around his bleeding arm while Steve tried to turn his head to see the arrow protruding from his side.

"Can you pull this thing out?" he hissed.

"No way," Michael whispered back. "Really, I can't. It's barbed and won't come out without tearing up a lot of flesh."

"Wonderful," Steve said, dropping his head back onto his arm. "Do you think you can walk out of here?"

"Yeah, but I'm not leaving you."

"Look, I can hold off this idiot long enough for you to get out of here. Do you know your directions? The ranger station is at the base of this mountain around on the other side, but you have to get around this rock slide to get there. I was heading there when we reached the slide. You're gonna need to go down the mountain and then over. Do you think you can find it?"

"I, yeah, I guess so."

"Then I want you to get down there." He had to stop and fire once again at Nigel who apparently still had ample ammunition. Steve had checked his own ammo and was running short so he had to make his shots count. "My partner should be down there. His name is Detective Danny Williams. Pay attention on the way down, notice the landmarks so you can tell him and the rangers how to get back. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, but what about you? You're bleeding. I don't want to leave you. Sir, I'm really sorry..."

"Look, I know it was an accident." Rolling thunder took that moment to echo across the sky which was laden with black clouds. Steve looked upward. "You need to hurry because the weather is changing quickly. You can make better time without me and I can hold this guy off to give you a quicker head start. I'll be OK. Just go."

"All right," Michael said with a sigh. "I'll bring back help."

"Thanks. Just tell them how to get here. And be careful... especially in the rain." Steve fired a couple of shots, motioning Michael to leave. Nigel's returning shots were aimed at him, giving Michael the opportunity he needed.

"You can still give up," Steve shouted to Nigel, hoping the man would answer him so he could check his location.

Nigel laughed. "Not going to happen."

Steve heard the voice and saw the leaves move. He aimed and fired, hoping to hit his target.

And he did. Nigel squealed out and Steve heard thrashing on the ground. He waited to see if Nigel would make any further moves. Contrary to what Steve had told Michael, his back and side were throbbing, the shooting pains traveling down his leg and up into his shoulder. He dropped his head again, resting it on his arm, listening for any further sounds from the other side of the slide.

He heard nothing, but the radio Steve had in his pocket crackled to life. "Riku," he heard, the voice whispering, "I require your assistance. I am bleeding. Stop what you are doing and come immediately. You can follow my trail over the ridge from our camp. Riku, do you hear me? Give me a Morse code sign if you do." It was silent for a moment and he spoke, more forcefully this time. "Riku, immediately!"

Steve knew he would need to clear out before someone else came onto the scene. He inched backwards toward the slope, dragging the rifle with him. With luck, he could be in position to take out both men at the same time. He just had to make it to the other side of the rock slide.

Steve blended back into the jungle and tried to pick a downward path, but the brush and thickets were thick and heavy. He was going to have to move closer to the rock slide in order to make his way down. And that way was out in the open and closer to Nigel who still had a rifle.

With no other choice, Steve broke cover. Nigel was quiet and Steve chose his steps well, careful of the rocks. He could feel blood soaking his shirt and flowing down his side and back; each step causing the arrow to quiver inside him. Sweat was pouring off him and his vision began graying around the edges. The rocks seemed to move in his peripheral vision and he struggled to keep everything in focus. In addition, lightning lit the sky, causing distortion of his surroundings. The accompanying thunder echoed in his aching head, also throwing him off balance.

The skies opened up with a torrent of rain coming down. Steve swiped a hand across his face so that he could see, but he waivered before stepping off a flat rock onto the ground. Before he could react, his foot slipped out from under him and he tried to turn to his right so as not to land on the arrow as he fell. He could feel rocks embed into his skin as he slid toward the bottom. About half way down in his fall, the rifle wedged into a crevasse, wrenched from his grasp, jerking his arm backward as he fell.

Before he landed, the arrow scraped against a rock, pushing it further into his muscle and bending the shaft upward. Steve cried out at the continued assault on his body and finally coming to a stop, somewhere half way down the mountain.

He lay there, rain pelting his body, somewhere near consciousness but not aware of his surroundings until the radio squawked to life once again.

"Riku, come in. I need you. I think I'm dying. There's blood…"

Steve realized if someone was coming, it was bad news for him. He was still too close to Nigel and had to get farther away. He tried to take stock of his injuries but everything hurt. He could feel the arrow grating along his side and his other side and right arm felt as if the skin had been shredded. His ankle and head had both kicked into high gear and he knew, without a doubt, that he wasn't going to make it to his feet.

So he did the only thing he could do.

He crawled.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_Questions: Where is Riku? And what happens to Nigel?_

_Thank you for reading! Answer the questions please so that I can figure out where we are going from here! _


	7. Chapter 7

_**Pala Pala Pa'ani**_

_**Chapter 7**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Riku crouched in the jungle armed with binoculars watching as the two rangers went over the area where they had broken camp. All the cars had been packed and were hidden well out of the way and Riku wasn't worried that they would be found soon. His main concern was Sabrina who was still digging back behind the waterfall. If she chose this moment to come out, their whole operation could be discovered.

And Riku had _**no**_ intention of getting caught.

He watched as one of the park officials talked on his radio before both climbed back into their Jeep and drove out the way they had come in. Riku waited another five minutes then carefully made his way to the site and climbed back behind the waterfall.

Riku watched Sabrina working away for a moment, and it was obvious that she loved what she was doing. He was sure she got off on the excitement and satisfaction of finding something that had been buried long ago.

She was so intent on her work, that Riku was able to creep very close without her noticing him. Until his shadow came between her and the light. Riku had to grin as she jumped and scooted backwards on her camp stool, startled by his sudden appearance.

"Oh! You startled me," she told the man.

Riku nodded and motioned for her to come with him. He needed to do this quickly.

"No, let me finish," she told him. "I found a few more bits of gold and a few more coins," she told him excited. "And several pieces of broken pottery. Besides, I brought some food and water with me so I don't need to take a break."

Riku clapped his hands together and motioned again for her to come. He reached down and grasped her around her arm and tugged upward.

"No, leave me alone," she said, now with fear in her voice.

Riku shook his head and then reached for her notepad, writing, 'Hurry. We must leave.' He shoved it toward her and grabbed her arm again, pulling her forward.

"Wait, what's wrong? Why are we leaving?" She now asked in alarm, but followed him anyway.

Before going back out into the camp, he motioned with his hand for her to be quiet and he glanced around the waterfall to ensure no one was there before moving around the rocks.

"Where is everyone?" Sabrina asked, stopping in her tracks when seeing that the camp had been dismantled. "Stop!" She got Riku's attention and glared at him, daring him to ignore her. She shoved the pen and paper back to him, demanding, "Tell me what's wrong."

Riku huffed, but did as she asked, quickly writing down that their camp had been discovered.

She read the note, and looked at him once again. "So, what? Is none of this is legit? That's why Nigel was so upset when that guy showed up last night?"

Riku nodded.

Sabrina's eyes widened as she pointed to the waterfall. "So, I've been committing a crime back there?"

Riku shrugged his shoulders and motioned for her to come with him. At that moment his radio squawked to life. "Riku," he heard, Nigel's voice whispering, "I require your assistance. I am bleeding. Stop what you are doing and come immediately. You can follow my trail over the ridge from our camp. Riku, do you hear me? Give me a Morse code sign if you do." The radio was silent for a moment and he spoke again, more forcefully this time. "Riku, immediately!"

Riku glared at the radio and then calmly tossed it into the pool of water. Taking Sabrina's arm again, more gently this time, he led her out of the camp and toward the waiting car.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Grace and Lucy bolted from the car in the parking lot of the ranger station just as the first rain drops began to fall. Mr. and Mrs. Chambers followed behind them as they all raced to one of the covered picnic pavilions where Ruth had taken cover.

"Ms. Ruth have you heard anything?" Grace asked while returning the ranger's hug.

"Nothing yet, Sweetie," she replied. "But this looks like a bad storm… they may need to come in for shelter."

"They wouldn't leave with Uncle Steve still out there," Lucy said, looking at Grace for confirmation. "Would they?"

"Lucy, they may not have a choice," her mother told them. "Storms in these mountains can be very dangerous."

"But Steve needs their help," Grace told them.

"I know, Gracie," Ruth assured her. "And they will do everything they can to find him before they have to come in."

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Grace and Lucy had run to the covered porch of the rangers' cabin, away from the adults who were sitting on the picnic tables out of the rain.

The girls were in the porch swing, pushing off with their feet to make it go higher. Each time it went back, they were sprayed with water cascading off the porch. "Think, Lucy, we need to do something."

"I know, but what?" She glanced back to the adults and added, "I'm surprised my dad let us this far away from them! He keeps looking this way to make sure we haven't disappeared."

"I wish I could talk to Danno," Grace said, then turned around when she heard a car engine. "Look!" She jumped off the swing and waited as the Jeep pulled up in front of the cabin.

The four occupants raced to the porch, all wearing plastic rain gear that they immediately pulled off. "Thank you for being prepared," Kono told Ranger Dawson.

"Part of the life out here," he told her, shaking out his own poncho.

"Danno?" Grace hugged her dad as soon as he took off the wet gear. "What about Uncle Steve?"

"We don't know yet, Monkey," he told her, placing a kiss on top of her head before reaching over and squeezing Lucy's shoulder. "What are you two girls doing back here? Find any geocaches?"

"Yes, this morning," Grace told him. "But we wanted to come back to see if you found him."

"Not yet, Gracie, but we will," Danny vowed.

Ruth and the Chambers came onto the porch, shaking water off their clothes. "Any news?" Ruth asked her husband.

"Not yet," he said, glancing at the ranger who was in the small check-in booth at the edge of the parking lot. "Anything going on here?"

"Nothing," she told him. "It was a very quiet morning. We advised everyone going into the park that there could be a hiker in trouble and to keep an eye out, but none of the ones who have come back have said anything. I think we only have two groups in the park at the moment and they both had overnight gear."

Emmett looked at his watch. "If this blows over in the next hour or so, we can get back out before nightfall," he told them. "But we'll need to watch for more landslides afterwards. That could be tricky. I would suggest we get something to eat while we wait for the rain to stop."

"How about pizza?" Chin asked, clapping his hands together. "Our treat. I noticed the storefront a couple of miles down the road. Do they deliver?"

"Yes, and they are good, too," Ruth assured him. "I'll get the phone number."

"Girls, what would you like?" Chin asked while Lucy's parents moved to speak with Danny.

"Hawaiian," Grace quickly replied, laughing when Danny rolled his eyes at her.

"Cheese, please," Lucy added.

"Mr. and Mrs. Chambers?" Chin asked?

"Anything is fine," they assured him. "Just let us know what we owe you," they added before turning to Danny. Mrs. Chambers told him, "My mom lives on the island and we are going back to her house tonight. If it's all right with you, we would like to take Grace with us. I know she's worried about her Uncle Steve and would like to stay close by."

Lucy's dad continued, "We thought it might be best that she isn't here in case something really bad has happened."

Danny blew out a sigh of relief and ran his hand through his hair. "That would be great. I really appreciate it," he told them. "I know the girls are worried." He glanced at the couple and then looked across the room at Grace. "And so am I," he admitted, speaking in a lower voice. "Something's very wrong for Steve to just have disappeared like that. And you're right. Grace shouldn't be here."

Mr. Chambers nodded. "We'll take care of your girl and you worry about your partner, Danny. I remember how you two took care of Lucy at the Aloha Girls camp out."

"Thank you. You know, I'm beginning to think we need to keep these two out of the jungle."

"I agree with you," Lucy's mom told him. "One hundred percent."

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"Kono, do you still have Steve's phone?" Danny asked after walking out onto the porch where she was watching the rain.

She stood and removed it from her pocket. "Here you go. I checked it… he only called you and Catherine from it."

"Yeah, that's a call I need to make." Danny took the phone and found Catherine's number. Walking to the far edge of the porch, he sat on the railing and waited.

"Hey, Cath. No, sorry, it's me, Danny. We need to talk…"

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Catherine stared at her telephone after Danny ended the call, trying to make sense of what she had heard. _It wasn't possible. This was Steve they were talking about. The most careful person she knew. He may come off as crazy and reckless… Danny's words… but there wasn't anything farther from the truth. Steve knew his way around jungles, oceans, deserts, any type of terrain._

_Something was very, very wrong._

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Nigel moved slowly through the jungle, the pain from his wound increasing in intensity. The rain had begun to fall and he was most miserable. His Panama hat was soggy and couldn't even keep the rain from his eyes. He glanced down at the small amount of blood on his once immaculate… now ruined $400 jacket, knowing that beneath the fabric, his arm was in shreds. He had to get help soon. Blood poisoning could set in or blood loss could be an issue. He had heard all sorts of horror stories about gunshot wounds and they all were frightening.

Nigel had shot – and killed - several of his enemies… and a few who he termed friends, but had always boasted to anyone who would listen that he had never been shot.

Until now.

Until this unknown person had fed lies to his hired help, luring them away from their work. And when Nigel tried to protect what was his, this man had shot him.

That person would pay. Nigel would see to that. In fact, a plan was already forming as he continued to trudge toward the location he and Riku had found to hide the cars. With Riku's help, this man would pay.

Once again, he attempted the radio, calling for Riku to come rescue him. Dead silence greeted him, so Nigel continued to thrash through the jungle in the rain.

He finally made it to the clearing they had decided to use to hide the vehicles in case of an emergency. Nigel was glad they put this contingency plan in place because it certainly came in handy now that his entire project had been blown. Nigel carefully checked the area, finding only one of the four cars they had brought in, but Nigel smiled. The car was idling and Riku was behind the wheel. Nigel came out of the jungle, waving with his uninjured arm, grateful to see the car… a symbol of civilization. He had begun to cross the clearing when Riku glanced up and saw him coming.

Nigel stopped walking and smiled at the other man, relieved in knowing that Riku would exit the car and rush forward to help him. After all, that was the man's lot in life.

Unfortunately for Nigel, Riku had plans of his own. He turned to glance at the person in the passenger seat, then put the car in gear and quickly drove away.

Leaving a confused… and very wet Nigel standing there alone.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

After eating pizza, Lucy and Grace snuck away from the adults and moved back out onto the front porch of the cabin. The rain was still steady, but was no longer coming down in torrential waves. Thankfully, the lightning and thunder had passed through the area without incident.

"If it would just stop, they could go back out and look for him," Grace said wistfully, staring at the water pouring off the cabin's porch.

"Yeah, but I heard your dad say that the trail would be washed away," Lucy replied. "How can they know where to look?"

"Danno will find it again," Grace vowed. "I know he will." She leaned forward in the swing, peering through the droplets of rain which were now no more than a light shower. Above the trees, the clouds were blowing out and splotches of blue sky were beginning to show.

Grace turned her head and waited, staring into the trees.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked.

"I thought I saw something," she said, shaking her head, convinced it was nothing. "Something moving."

"Is it Steve?"

"No, I guess it was just the leaves, but for a minute I thought I saw something blue." She paused, then looked at Lucy, excited. "Steve had on a blue shirt!"

Both girls went to the edge of the porch and stared at the place Grace had seen something. A couple minutes went by before Lucy spotted something as well. "There! See?"

"Yeah." Grace turned to look into the window and could see the adults at the kitchen table, poring over a map. She turned back and looked at the jungle. "Let's go," she decided, grabbing one of the ponchos that had been left on the porch.

"Shouldn't we get your dad or the ranger?" Lucy asked.

"Not yet. It might be nothing and we shouldn't disturb them," Grace decided, handing another poncho to her friend. "And if it is Steve, we can get them in a second. We aren't going far."

"OK," Lucy agreed. "Let's go." The two girls jumped off the porch and ran through the rain, trying to avoid the larger puddles on their trek to the tree line.

They stopped when they reached the trees, trying to peer through them, but saw nothing. Stepping further into the foliage, they hesitated, turning to look at the cabin before making the decision to go further.

They were beginning to go down the muddy path when a voice startled them. "Please. Stop."

Lucy's bloodcurdling scream mingled with Grace's shrieking of the word, "DANNO!" at the top of her lungs.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_**Yes, I know there is no Steve in this chapter. Sym64 hastily and repeatedly pointed it out to me during her beta. :)**_

_**Multiple Choice Question: Who have the girls found? (a) Michael; (b) Nigel; or (c) Steve?**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Pala Pala Pa'ani**_

_**Chapter 8**_

_**OK, I'm now in overdrive trying to finish this. I had hopes it would be done long before Season 4 began, but I didn't expect all the bumps in the road that happened this summer. After Chapter 8, there is one, maybe two more chapters, depending on how I break them. And as I am almost finished with Chapter 9, there isn't a question at the end of this chapter.**_

_**Mahalo for continuing to read.**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_Lucy's bloodcurdling scream mingled with Grace's shrieking of the word, "DANNO!" at the top of her lungs._

It was a toss up as to which father jumped the highest, but Danny pushed aside Lucy's dad to go through the doorway first, weapon already drawn. Brad Chambers was right behind him, gun or no gun, followed closely by Chin, Kono, Emmett, Ruth and Mrs. Chambers.

"GRACIE?" Danny called, looking around for the girls.

"Here, Danno," she called back and both she and Lucy moved so that they were visible to the gathering crowd.

Danny and Brad reached the tree line, Danny pointing his gun to the ground as he breathed a sigh of relief that they were OK. "What happened?"

Grace pointed. "He's hurt. We need to help him," she said while Lucy moved around a bush and pointed at Michael who was leaning against a tree.

"Get back!" Danny ordered both girls and trained his gun on Michael; Chin and Kono providing back up and securing the surroundings. Ruth reached for Grace and Lucy's mother grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the cove of trees.

"Who are you?" Danny asked, looking at the young man's wet, muddy and torn clothing, a t-shirt wrapped around his right biceps.

Michael attempted to get up but Danny ordered him to stay on the ground.

The young man groaned. "My name is Michael Addison and I need to find a Danny Williams. Steve sent me."

Danny dropped his gun once again. "Where is Steve? Is he OK?"

"He's hurt. And being hunted by a crazy man… my boss. Or former boss, that is. But I can take you to him."

"Son, you need medical attention," Emmett pointed out. "You can you tell us McGarrett's location and then we'll get you to the hospital."

"No, please. I need to show you. I have to… it's my fault he was hurt. And it will be quicker if I can take you."

"Let's get out of this rain first and see what your arm looks like," Emmett decided, looking to Danny for acknowledgement.

"Fine," he agreed, reaching down to help haul Michael to his feet as they made their way back to the cabin. "But start explaining how it is your fault that my partner has been injured…"

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Ruth and Emmett cleaned Michael's arm, which was a through-and-through. Even though the bullet hadn't hit anything vital, it had bled quite freely.

"So, you're telling me that you and this other guy, Aku, hunted Steve all night?"

"Yes, Sir. I-uh, I found Aku this morning," he said, paling at the thought. "He was—"

Chin nodded. "We found his body, too," he said in a low voice, knowing the girls were trying to listen to every word. "And we think Steve fell down the same slide with him."

Michael nodded his head. "I'm pretty sure. Steve was banged up and was limping some, but he wasn't too bad. Until…"

"Until you shot him with an arrow," Danny finished.

"Yeah," Michael quietly agreed while Emmett placed his arm in a sling. "Can we leave now?" he asked, ready to stand up. "It's still light out and I know exactly where he was. We need to hurry."

"Son, you should get to the hospital and get checked out," Emmett told them all. "We patched you up, but you've lost some blood. You shouldn't traipse around in the jungle."

"No, I promised I would get to you. I owe him that much."

"We'll go as far as we can by Jeep and then walk in. Think you can still find it if we go around the mountain rather than through the jungle?" Emmett asked.

"I can get us pretty close," Michael said. "I know where I came down to the base of the mountain."

"Then let's go," Danny said. "Gracie, come here." He bent down and looked her in the eye. "I want you to mind Mr. and Mrs. Chambers tonight. I'll call you when I hear something, all right?"

"No, Danno," she pleaded. "Can't I stay here until you get Uncle Steve? I need to see him."

"You and Lucy—"

"Oh, please, let us stay?" Lucy begged, looking at her dad. "Please, Dad, just until they come back. We can stay, can't we?"

Brad Chambers looked first at his daughter, then at Grace's pleading face before he turned toward Danny. "I don't suppose it will hurt if we stick around for a while longer," he decided, receiving his wife's approval. "But girls, you stay put. No more traipsing in the jungle, you hear me?"

Both girls beamed, although promised to stay put. Especially after Danny gave his daughter the evil eye. "Grace, no farther than the porch."

"Yes, sir."

They grabbed their gear to head out and Chin asked Michael, "So tell me more about Nigel. I did some initial digging and didn't come up with anything on him." They headed outside with the girls trailing them, standing on the porch.

"He's worse than his pompous name. He's an arrogant know-it-all who wore a tweed jacket and a Panama hat. In the damn jungle, no less. And all he did was sit while we did the work for him…"

Michael's voice faded as they started the two Jeeps; Emmett and Kono in one and Chin driving the second one with Danny and Michael as passengers.

Lucy put her hand on Grace's shoulder. "Don't worry, Grace. They'll bring him home."

"I know. I just want him to be OK. He _**has**_ to be OK. He promised to take Catherine on a date tomorrow. A really _**fancy**_ date where they get all dressed up."

"Ooh, do you think he will propose?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know, he still says she's not his girlfriend, but this date was something special. I could tell he was excited about it and he was gonna wear a suit and shave and everything. And now all that's ruined." Grace crossed her arms and tried not to cry. "Stupid weekend," she muttered.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Nigel recovered from his fury, muttering curses as he trudged through the jungle. Thankfully the rain had abated, but that did nothing to improve his bad move.

Heads would roll. Everyone would pay. Especially Riku. The disrespect astounded him. Did the man not know that Nigel was the one who had saved him from a horrid life of indentured servitude? He should be grateful for Nigel's help. Instead, he had mocked him in his time of need rather than coming to his aid.

Had he not seen the blood stains on the jacket? Did he not _**know**_ what suffering Nigel was going through?

Or did he not care?

That simply could not be the case. Riku had been with him for seven good years. He had shared everything with the man. Riku knew him inside and out and they had made plans. Good plans. Plans for Nigel's future.

Someone else must have gotten to his servant and forced him to flee.

That was the only explanation Nigel could come up with. Surely Riku would not do something of this magnitude on his own.

And again, Nigel decided that someone would pay for those actions. Because obviously someone else was responsible.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"I'm telling you, he was right here," Michael told them. "See, there's my bow."

Danny reached down with a gloved hand. "Which is now evidence." He picked up the bow in gloved hands and set it on a boulder to take back to the Jeep. "And this," he stopped and swallowed, "appears to be Steve's blood." His partner must have been leaning against that same rock because the blood evidence was still evident under the overhang of rock where the rain hadn't reached to wash it away.

To Danny, it looked like a lot of blood. Way more than needed to be on the _outside_ of his partner's body. He looked at his surroundings once again. Mountain, jungle and rocks. Bleak.

_Where the hell are you, Steven?_

"Hey, we found where the shooter was," Kono called from the other side of the rock slide. She and Emmett went up that side of the slide while he, Chin and Michael were on the opposite. "And there's a trail. We'll work from this side and stay in radio contact," she told them.

"Be careful," Chin warned her before looking through binoculars toward the base of the mountain. "Hey! Danny, this way. Michael, you stay put. No need for you to take a header off the mountain."

Michael nodded and gratefully sat down on a rock. He was glad he had found Steve's last known location but after the climb he was feeling a bit shaky and knew he still had to get back down to the Jeep.

Danny followed Chin. "What did you see?" he asked.

"Rifle. Over here. Looks like it is stuck between two rocks."

Halfway down the mountain, they found the weapon, the butt of the rifle wedged between the rocks. They turned and looked further down the mountain side, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

"He's here somewhere," Chin said, continuing to walk downward.

"Yeah, but where?"

They had reached the bottom of the mountain and found smears of blood on the underside of a rock. There was no trail to follow; the rain had left mud puddles and trees and brush bordered three sides of the rock slide. No way of knowing which way he had gone. Or even if he had gone under his own power.

And to top it off, the sun was slipping behind the mountain. They knew that soon Emmett would radio them, saying it was time to leave.

While they knew they had to go, it didn't set well leaving their friend out here for another night.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

_It was a dream. _

_In it, he was shivering from cold, but decided that was impossible since he could feel the sweat pouring off his aching body. Sounds weaved in and out of his dream and he thought he remembered the voices. Friend or foe? He wasn't sure. Steve didn't move a muscle in case the voices were from unfriendlies. Until he figured out where he was and what had happened, it was safer not to reveal his location._

_He thought he had a rifle, but where was it? Not here. He needed it to defend himself._

_Steve was alone in unknown territory. Up against how many of the enemy?_

_He would fight as long as he had breath. _

_He just wished he knew why._

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"I'm bored," Lucy said, plopping back into the porch swing with Grace.

"Yeah, me, too," Grace agreed, using her toes to rock the swing.

"Hey, do you have music on your phone?" Lucy asked. "My iPod is in the car."

"My phone is almost dead and my charger is in my backpack in your car," Grace told her. "And I want to keep the phone open for when Danno calls."

"OK. So let's go ask Dad for the car keys," Lucy said, jumping off the swing.

"Think he'll let us go to the parking lot?" Grace asked. "We've pretty much been imprisoned on the porch."

"Come on. What can happen? Besides there is a ranger sitting right there in that little booth. Nothing's going to happen."

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"I can't believe your dad handed you the keys and let us come out by ourselves."

"Yeah, I know" Lucy agreed. "But what's going to happen in the parking lot? With a guard sitting right there," she said, waving to the guy in the booth.

The park would soon close its gates at dusk, but until that time, people were allowed in. Those who chose to spend the night in the park had to fill out paperwork prior to being allowed entrance. Others only had day passes. The girls had watched many people leaving the park today, but now everything was quiet.

The Chambers' car was about half-way down the parking lot, in the shadow of trees. They were walking along, scuffling their feet when they heard a muttered curse. Without saying a word, they looked at each other, looking around for the sound.

They heard a ping on the ground and another curse. The girls ducked behind a car and then got down on the ground, looking beneath that car through to the other side of Lucy's dad's car. They could see a figure on his knees by the driver's door.

"I think someone's trying to break into your car," Grace whispered.

"Yeah. He won't be able to get in, will he?"

"I don't know. But we need to let the guard know."

"If we do, the guy might run away." They peered over the car, trying to see the person. All they saw in the fading light was a hat.

"Hey, Michael said the guy who hurt Steve was wearing a hat. Is that a Panama hat?" Lucy asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" Grace asked, rolling her eyes at her friend. "I don't know what a Panama is. Wait, listen."

Something fell to the ground and then the light inside the car came on and was quickly extinguished as the door was quietly shut.

"He got in my car!" Lucy said. "My dad's gonna be so mad. How'd he do that?"

"I don't know, but I've got an idea," Grace said. "We need to get your dad out here before this guy figures out how to start the car."

"What are we going to do?"

Grace reached for the keys in Lucy's hand. She turned over the key fob and pointed. "See that button. Press it and let's see what happens."

Lucy grinned at her friend and hit the alarm button.

The car's lights came on, the horn began to blare and people poured from the cabin and guard's shack.

And there sat Nigel right in the middle of it all.

_**~~~H50~~~**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Pala Pala Pa'ani**_

_**Chapter 9**_

_**Well, my friends, this is the final chapter. I can't begin to thank you enough for continuing to read and to answer the questions I have posted for you. This is one story that definitely would not have been completed without your help. As I said earlier, I didn't think it would be that hard to take your ideas and try to incorporate them into the story, but it was more difficult than I had thought. You all had a LOT of great ideas and I tried to use as many as I could. I know a lot of it was disjointed and I apologize for that, but there were a lot of characters to deal with and it was hard to sort them out at times. **_

_**Again, thanks to Sockie1000 and Sym64 for their awesome beta work. Their ideas and extra touches really help my writing immensely, so you, the reader, need to know that they are great betas, but more than that, they are even greater friends. **_

_**Mahalo to everyone who has continued to read this. Sorry it has taken so long to publish!**_

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Nigel thought about his predicament. Car theft apparently wasn't a strong suit of his, but he knew he could turn this around.

It was all a misunderstanding.

And he knew that these bumpkins would soon see it his way. After all, he always had a plan.

At the prodding of Ranger Ruth and the young man in the booth, Nigel finally got out of the car. Not happily, but he climbed out, moaning because of his injured arm. He warily eyed Ruth who pointed a shotgun at him and he knew there was no doubt she knew how to use it.

"Please, you have to help me," he began, apparently very distraught.

"Why?" Brad Chambers replied. "You're trying to steal my car."

"I was just trying to get to the hospital," he said, holding his 'wound' with the other hand. "I need medical help. There was a fight… on the mountain." He turned and gestured vaguely at the mountains behind them. "Two men were fighting. I was on the walking trail and one of them shot me. It was dreadful." He shook his head in disgust at that horrible memory, playing his part to perfection. "I've been wandering for hours… and my arm… I'll probably need surgery. Please, help me get to the hospital." He groaned again a little for good measure and showed them his arm that had stopped bleeding long ago.

Ruth peered at the smear of blood on Nigel's jacket. "Doesn't look too bad to me," she muttered. "And if you need help so badly, why didn't you stop at the booth instead of getting in a car?"

Brad was checking out his car door. "He used a wire to pick my lock," he said, looking at all the scratches around the lock. "And I think I would like to press charges."

"No, no, you're mistaken," Nigel began again. "I thought this was my car and I had locked the keys inside. I just needed in…"

The ranger glanced around the nearly empty lot. "There are no other cars even closely resembling this one, so how did you think it was yours? And when did you check in? All of our hikers are accounted for."

"I can explain…" Nigel tried again when Ruth pointed the gun toward him.

"Walk," she ordered. "Grace, looks like you and Lucy have caught yourself a felon."

"No, no, of course not," Nigel said. "You're wrong. You all misunderstand. Why don't you put down the weapon and we can work this out?" Nigel knew with enough persuasion, he could talk himself out of this little predicament.

"We didn't misunderstand!" Grace said to him. "We caught you stealing a car."

"Yeah!" Lucy added. "We're not blind!"

"You are just children... what do you know?" Nigel said, looking down his nose at the girls. He would **not** be bested by two little girls!

"They are two very smart little girls, I can promise you that," Lucy's father replied. Brad shook his head and turned to his wife and muttered, "Honey, I'm so glad we didn't have twins. These girls are going to make me gray overnight."

"Dad," Lucy said, rolling her eyes. "We got the guy who shot Michael. Maybe he will tell us where Steve is."

"We can only hope, Sweetie," her mother replied.

"I have _**no**_ clue to what you are referring!" Nigel promptly replied, still not giving up his role.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"Base to Ranger Dawson," Ruth's voice sounded over the radio.

"Dawson here. Go ahead Ruthie."

"We have a situation at base camp. The girls found someone trying to break into the Chambers' car. Funny thing, he's wearing a jacket and a Panama hat. Sound like anyone you've heard of?"

"We're already heading back to base. Good work, girls. Over and out."

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"Michael, do you know this man?" Danny asked as they entered the cabin and found Nigel seated at the table, Ruth's shotgun still trained on him.

Nigel jumped up and pointed to Michael. "That's one of them. The man… he had a bow and arrow and was target shooting. I was almost hit by an arrow and then the other man shot me. I'm telling you, he needs to be locked up. You have to believe me."

Danny moved in close and grabbed the lapels of Nigel's jacket. "Shut. Up." He pushed him back into the seat. "Michael? Do you know him?"

Michael wearily took a seat and nodded. "Meet Nigel Harrington. My boss."

"No, no, he's wrong. I'm just a hiker and this man tried to kill me."

Chin looked at Nigel from head to toe. "Funny hiking clothes you've got there. Want to rethink your story?"

Nigel stood once again. "You people are crazy. I'm getting out of here," he called out and made to leave.

Danny forcefully pushed him back into his seat. "I will ask you one question and you better answer correctly. Where is my partner?"

"Partner?"

Danny took his badge from his pocket and slammed it on the table in front of his prisoner. "Five-0. My partner is Steve McGarrett, the head of the Governor's task force. Now… do you want to talk straight or do you have another story to tell us?"

"I… I don't know any McGarrett. Really," he pointed to Michael. "Ask him. He is the one who was in a fight with the other guy."

"Ruth? Becky?" Danny said, glancing over to the women. "Please take the girls into the other room. And don't come out until we give an all clear."

"Right," Ruth said. "Come along girls. Nothing here for you to see."

Lucy turned to Grace and mouthed the word "Wow" to her. Grace grinned back and they didn't take their eyes off the people in the kitchen until the bedroom door closed.

"I told you Danno would get him," Grace whispered.

"OK," Mrs. Chambers began. "You don't need to be watching anything like that. I'm sure they are just going to talk to the man."

The sounds of a dull thud and then a kitchen chair hitting the floor echoed into the bedroom and everyone's eyes widened.

"Don't worry," Grace told them. "Danno knows what he's doing. He'll get him to talk."

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"Hey, Grace", Danny said, calling his daughter at six on Sunday morning. "I hope you got some rest last night."

"Yeah, I guess," she replied, sounding sad. "Lucy's grandma is really nice, but I wish I was at the park. Danno, you're going to find Uncle Steve today. I know it."

"You know, Monkey, I think you're right."

"I'm positive," she repeated. "Because Uncle Steve made a promise to take Catherine on a date today."

"Well, yeah, he did," Danny agreed. "But Honey, I doubt they'll be able to make their date this afternoon."

"I know that," she said, "but he promised her and Uncle Steve doesn't ever break his promises. So, I know you'll find him."

"Yeah, Gracie. Yeah, we will. Listen, I made arrangements for you to fly back with Lucy's family when they go home today." She began to protest and he continued, "Grace, I plan to pick you up tonight _**after**_ we find Steve, but if I have to stay here, then I'll call your Mom to get you. Are you cool with that?"

"I guess so," she quietly said. "Just find him and bring him home."

"That, my dear, is the plan."

"Love you, Danno."

"Love you more."

Danny hung up the phone, the knot in the pit of his stomach growing larger, churning in his gut. He knew the statistics of finding Steve alive were dropping with each passing hour. They had wasted so much time yesterday with the rain and then there had been another storm in the middle of the night. He had laid in bed listening to it rain on the tin roof and wondered where his partner was, if he had any protection from the elements. If he- Danny reined in those thoughts. He would _**not**_ think the words "if he were still alive".

But the words hovered in the background, screaming at him, mocking him.

They _**had**_ to find him today. There was no other option.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Emmett had three groups of rangers that had been called in for the search. They were bent over the table, looking at the map, marking off grids. When each grid was thoroughly checked, it would be called in to Ruth who would mark it off the map.

Danny clipped his weapon onto his belt and met the other members of the search party. After introductions, he nodded to them and thanked them all for their help.

They had had a long night. After finally realizing that Nigel probably didn't know Steve's location, they had sent him off with the local police. No one commented on his bloody nose as he was taken away. When Nigel had complained of police brutality, Ranger Emmett explained to the police that Nigel had fallen out of his chair.

Michael had been taken to the hospital in another police car. He was still concerned about Sabrina who hadn't been found, but Nigel had finally admitted to them that Riku had left and had someone else in the car with him. Presumably Sabrina.

The local police were on the lookout for the black Escalade but so far, it hadn't been recovered.

The groups were geared up and ready. Emmett, Danny, Chin and Kono were going to take the two grids closest to Steve's last known location and they planned to leave no stone unturned. When they left the Jeep, Danny turned to the others. "OK, let's start thinking like Steve," he said. "We don't know what state he's in or how badly he's hurt. For all we know, he has amnesia and won't even know us," he muttered. "We just need to find him."

"Damn straight," Kono said, taking point. "Let's do this."

_**~~~H50~~~**_

It was sheer luck that they did find him.

Or a miracle.

Danny didn't really believe in miracles, but Gracie did. And Grace had been right when she had told her dad they would find Steve that day.

After 46 hours of searching and hoping, she _**knew**_ he would be found.

Danny thanked God for little girls and their undying faith.

Although finding Steve was a total fluke. They had been traipsing through the gully-washed jungle for almost nine hours, having had to leave the pitiful excuse for a path way too many times to count. The first grid had been called into Ruth and marked off and they were beginning the next section. None of the other parties had seen any signs of Steve either, a fact that caused the worry in Danny's gut to continue to grow.

They took a breather, staring at a giant tree that was blocking their way, its dead, tangled branches now jutting toward the sky.

After veering first to the left, which was dense with undergrowth, Emmett stopped and turned around, telling them they needed to head to the right, around the tree, in hopes of reconnecting with the path.

Chin's machete was cutting through the brush while Kono kept her trusty flashlight trained on the ground, checking beneath brush and rocks. They continued to slowly walk, trying to see everything with fresh eyes. They had just been here yesterday and felt this exercise was futile, but they would not… _**could**_ not give up.

Kono tripped on what she had thought was a root and shined her flashlight down there, saying, "Watch out."

Danny looked where she was pointing and simultaneously they saw the mud-caked brown boot jutting from the brush. After staring at it for a moment, they realized what they were actually seeing, and both shouted. Chin and Emmett returned and then Emmett moved away and called the other teams, giving their location.

Danny reached down and placed two fingers beneath Steve's boot… there was _**no**_ doubt as to whose foot that was… to search for a pulse. After a few panicked moments, he picked up a beat. It was by no means steady or strong, but it was there.

"Emmett," he yelled. "We need air transport ASAP."

"Working on it," the older man shouted back. "Talking to Ruth right now."

They began removing the dense brush, scratching their hands and pricking their skin with thorns, all the while shouting Steve's name. The once-charcoal gray cargos were caked in both dry and still sticky mud with reddish stains mingled with the dirt. Somehow Steve had managed to tunnel into the thicket of brush, thorns and branches. Chin tried using the machete to remove the brush but was afraid he would cut Steve in the process.

Finally they managed to get closer and Kono set down her light, crawling as far as she could into the space with Steve.

"Still can't see his face," she told them. "Steve! Hey, Boss, can you hear me? He's on his stomach," she called back to her friends. "His arms are above his head and I can't get in far enough to see his face." She paused and then added, "Guys, he's lost a _**lot**_ of blood. The shaft of the arrow has broken off, too."

"Here, hold the light for Kono," Chin told Danny and tried to circle around to the other side. "I'm going to try cutting away from over here."

Danny looked up from the hole Chin had cut away. "Good idea, be careful. Kono, can you see anything else?"

She was still trying to slither into a space not big enough for a body to enter. "Oh, God. Danny, there's blood everywhere."

He heard the panic in her voice; knew she dreaded what she was going to find.

"Hey, Danny?" Chin called. "I can make headway on this side. Come over and help me pull away the brush when I chop it."

"I'll go," Emmett told him. "You stay here with Kono."

"Thanks." Danny kneeled down as far into the space as he could but couldn't get a good look at his partner.

Kono turned and looked at him, smiling. "We found him Danny. He'll be OK."

"Yeah, of course he will."

He had to be. Gracie was never wrong.

_**~~~H50~~~**_

They decided to wait until rescue had arrived before moving Steve since they couldn't see the extent of his injuries. Chin had cut away most of the brush from the other side of the thicket and they had been able to crawl in there close to him. They checked him over and since Steve's breathing appeared to be even, there was no need to endanger him further by moving him.

When they heard the whap-whap noise of the chopper's rotor, they breathed sighs of relief. Danny reached down and touched Steve's shoulder. "Soon, Partner. We'll get you out of here."

Several minutes later, Steve was on a backboard, propped on his side with a rolled towel beneath his neck and pillows supporting both his back and stomach so that he wouldn't roll. He hadn't made a move on his own since they got him out of his hiding place, but Danny dropped down on his knees in front of him.

"Hey, Steve, can you hear me? Wake up, Babe. You seriously have us worried this time."

Silence greeted him and Danny got up to meet the Army medic who said that the chopper had managed to land nearby and they would walk the basket out to the chopper instead of hoisting Steve up. The other medic was busy inserting an IV when Steve groaned and tried to pull his arm away.

"Sorry, Commander, but you need to hold still."

"Steve?" Danny quickly dropped to his knees once again. "Hey, Buddy, how ya doing?"

Steve's eyelids flickered and he bit back another groan when he squinted them open to see Danny staring at him.

"Hey," he managed to get out after trying to wet his lips with his dry tongue.

"Hey, yourself. We found your hidey-hole."

"Mm. Day… izzit?"

"Today's Sunday."

Steve groaned again, but this time not in pain. "Crap. She's gonna kill me."

_**~~~H50~~~**_

Catherine paced the narrow confines of the ship's Tactical Room. Glancing at her watch once again, she realized they had docked a little over an hour ago and here she was, still waiting… impatiently… to disembark. Until inspection, they weren't allowed to leave, so she did the next best thing.

She paced.

Her left thumb nail had already been bitten into an unrecognizable shape so she balled her hands into fists so as not to bite off any more of them. Catherine wasn't good at waiting.

Just like someone else she knew and loved.

_Steve, what the hell happened to you out there? _She paused, and then sadly smiled. _Another dinner down the drain, you dog. _

She shook her head, thinking back to when he had asked her out last week. _He had almost acted shy about it… like he was afraid she would turn him down. It was weird, she had woken up and he was propped up on his elbow, staring at her. It was disconcerting at best but she watched as a smile brightened his features. _

"_What'cha doing?" she asked._

"_Nothin'." The grin didn't waiver but he looked away from her. "Just thinking."_

_Catherine turned on her side and slipped her leg between his. Leaning in closer, she whispered, "About?"_

"_You," he admitted, glancing back at her. "Do you think… I mean, would you like… how about if we went out next week after you dock on Sunday? I mean a real date. You know, dinner… out?" _

"_Really?" she grinned back at him. "You're asking me out on a for-real date? Wait… we're not going to eat in the car again, are we?" _

"_No, come on. Dinner in a restaurant. With reservations and everything."_

_She leaned in further. "I. Would. Be. Delighted." Each word was separated by a kiss around his mouth until finally he rolled on top of her, stopping her from speaking at all._

Cath glared at her watch and started to call Danny once more from the ship, but stopped herself. _He'll call when they have news. Rollins, you need to be patient. Everything is fine._

She hoped.

Forty-five minutes later, she finally was able to disembark and walk to the vehicle which would take her to base and her car. She looked for the transport bus, seeing it parked near the fence. Quickly walking in that direction, she prayed she wouldn't have to wait forever until it left the dock.

Catherine was so intent on her mission she didn't see someone heading her direction until he cleared his throat.

"Lieutenant Rollins, Ma'am?"

"I'm sor… Tyler? I mean, Ensign Grant?"* She did another double take, realizing the young man was carrying a bouquet of at least two dozen red roses.

"Yes, ma'am." Tyler stood at parade rest, unable to salute for fear of dropping the flowers. "Um, these are for you. I'm going to guess you might know who they are from."

"Yes, I mean, why? … How? Tyler, did Steve make you stand out here waiting on me?"

Tyler handed her the flowers and she leaned her head down and sniffed. Suddenly the tears she had needed to cry since yesterday afternoon came unbidden.

"The Commander requested my help with a covert mission, Ma'am… begging your pardon, but, please don't cry. I have his note for you right here."

"I'm sorry," Cath told him, wiping her face. "When did he plan all this?"

"A few days ago," he said. "He told me to tell you 'it is all in his note'."

"I guess you haven't heard," Catherine whispered, wiping away another tear.

"Heard what, Ma'am?"

"Steve went to Kauai with friends and he disappeared in the jungle. He hasn't been heard from since before 2200 on Friday."

"The Commander? I'm sure he is fine, Lieutenant. Are you going to head to Kauai?"

"Yes, I think so," she told him. "Oh! I'm sorry, but I have to catch the bus to pick up my car. I need

to-"

"No, Ma'am, that's not necessary. I can escort you back to base much more quickly than the bus. Let's go."

Catherine breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Tyler. I really appreciate this."

"No worries, Ma'am. And for the record… I'm sure Commander McGarrett is all right. No little jungle can get the better of him."

Cath laughed through her tears. "I'm sure you're right, Tyler. Thank you."

"Yes, Ma'am. Here we are." He helped her into the Jeep and then ran to the driver's side. "Let's burn some rubber."

Catherine sat silently in the Jeep, her eyes welling with tears, the opened envelope in her lap. Tyler reached into a pocket and gave her a white handkerchief. "Here you go. Don't worry, it's clean. My Momma always makes me carry one."

Cath smiled through her tears. "Thank your Momma for me, Tyler. And I'm sorry. It's just…"

"You don't have to tell me, Ma'am."

"No, it's OK. Everyone sees Steve as this big, bad-ass SEAL and then he goes and does something so sweet that it just blows my mind. He told me to dress for a nice dinner and be ready when he came for me. He said the place would blow me away, whatever that means."

"Maybe you're going hang gliding," Tyler said with a grin.

She laughed. "You know, knowing Steve, you might just be right." She sobered quickly. "I just hope he shows up soon. This waiting business is killing me."

"Have faith, Ma'am. He'll be fine."

Catherine smiled at him. "You're right, Tyler. He will be."

They passed through the gates of the military base and Catherine gave directions to the lot where her car was located. She was in the process of thanking Tyler when her phone rang. She almost dropped it in her haste to get it out of her pocket.

"Danny?"

"Not Dan—"

"STEVE!" she squealed. "What happened? Are you OK? Oh, I was scared to—"

"Hey… want to say … sorry. Um, here's-."

"Cath, hi, we got 'im."

"Danny? What's going on?"

"OK, first off, he's going to be OK, but he _**had**_ to call you himself. We just found him, but I wanted to catch you before you got a flight over here. He's stable and the medics are airlifting him straight to Tripler. So, just hang tight and I'll let you know when the chopper leaves the island."

"But he's going to be all right?"

"Yeah, the goof fell off a mountain… maybe twice… and believe it or not, ended up shot with an arrow. I'm sure this is going to be a very interesting debrief."

"Tell him I'll be waiting for him, OK?"

"Of course. Medics are getting him ready for the trip. Uh, he looks a bit worse for wear, but they assure me everything is fine. Which is a good thing because when he feels better, we're going to have a talk about him wandering off like a three year old."

"Cut him some slack, Danny and don't yell at him."

"We'll see. Hey, I need to call Grace to let her know the good news. She's been worried sick."

"OK, thanks for the call. I'm going to grab a change of clothes and head to Tripler."

"We'll meet you there as soon as we can. Take care of him. Chin and Kono are coordinating a flight with our prisoner and I need to get back and pick up Grace. "

"Always. And thanks, Danny." She hung up the phone and looked into Tyler's grinning face. "He fell down a mountain, but he's going to be all right."

"Told you so," the ensign said.

"You did, didn't you? Why don't you stop by the hospital and pay him a visit?"

"I might have to do that. You know, just to rib him a little for falling off a mountain. That doesn't sound like a very SEAL thing to do."

"Tyler, you had better be nice to my guy… or I just might have to hurt you!"

"Duly noted, ma'am."

~~~H50~~~

Steve slowly rose to consciousness. His first perception was that he was warm and dry. As opposed to the chilled and damp that he remembered from earlier. His second thought was that he was numb. Which wasn't a bad thing at all. He seemed to remember hurting from his head down to his toes and every place in between. Right now, even his brain felt like mush and he had trouble connecting his chain of thoughts together, although a head-over-heels tumble down a mountain was a memory he couldn't forget.

He simply laid there for a while, eyes closed, too comfortable to think any further. After a few moments of calm, he felt fingers caressing his right wrist which was lying on top of the sheet.

_Catherine._

He didn't move, but took a chance at opening his eyes, hoping it wouldn't cause his headache to spike. His eyesight was a bit blurry but he could make out her figure, seated by his bed, one hand lightly resting on his wrist, the other holding a piece of paper.

And he could see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

_Not good._

"Cath?"

She dropped the paper and stood to lean over him. "Oh, Steve." She wiped he tears from her face and smiled at him. "Hey, Commander."

"Why the tears? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" She laughed at that. "You're lying here after being lost in the jungle for two days and you ask me what's wrong? Classic."

"I wasn't lost… knew where I was but just couldn't get back to where I needed to be."

"Right. You weren't lost. Be sure to explain that one to Danny."

"I will. Where is he?"

"He had to pick up Grace but they are going to come by later. Hey, how do you feel?"

"Numb," he immediately replied. "And that's not a complaint."

"I should hope not. I can't imagine being shot with an arrow feels great. But luckily it didn't hit anything vital."

"Hey! I'm vital," he reminded her with a pout in his voice.

She leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Oh, yes, you are very vital to me. But I meant that the arrow didn't hit any vital organs."

He grunted and tried to make himself more comfortable in the bed. "Good." He took a good look at her again. "So, what's with the tears then? I'm not dying or anything, am I?"

"No, you're not." She leaned over to pick up the paper. "I was just reading your letter that Tyler delivered. Smooth move, there, Commander."

Steve made a face. "Yeah, but it would have been better had everything worked according to plan."

Catherine glanced down at the note once again. "You know, this isn't true."

"What isn't?"

She cleared her throat and read:

"_I am long overdue in showing you how special you are to me. I'll see you at 1700._

You show me all the time that I'm special," she told him.

"Not with things like dinner or flowers or stuff like that," he argued, not able to look her in the eye.

"Maybe not," she agreed, seeing his embarrassment, "but you show me with your smile, the look in your eyes, your touch and all the goofy things you do."

"I'm not goofy," Steve objected, but his grin said otherwise.

She smiled and leaned down to kiss him once again. "Oh, I beg to differ, Commander. Goofy is sitting in your living room eating an MRE. Goofy is having a 'romantic' dinner in your pick up. Goofy is—"

"OK, I get your point. Now, why don't you go find the doctor and get me signed out of here?"

"I so don't think so," she argued.

"Come on, you said the arrow didn't hit anything. What's to keep me from leaving?"

A voice from the doorway answered for her. "That would be _**me**_, Commander McGarrett."

Steve glanced toward the door and groaned. Why her? He turned back to Catherine. "Of all the doctors in this hospital, why did I have to get her? She is the most aggravating woman I have ever met."

"And you, Sir, are absolutely the most pig-headed, annoying patient I have ever met," Dr. Palakiko** retorted.

"Well," Catherine said with a grin. "I take it you two have met before."

Steve grinned. "How ya doing, Doc?"

Palakiko leaned against the other side of the bed. "I'm good. At least I'm better than you right now. Looks like you just can't stay out of trouble."

"Well, yeah, you know…"

"I have to say," she began, "that I have treated too many injuries, both in combat zones and here at Tripler and you are my very first arrow-ectomy. I feel honored."

"Glad I let you carve another notch in your stethoscope."

She reached over and flipped off the lights above his bed and pulled a pen light from her pocket. "I know you hate this, but you managed to concuss yourself once again, so I need to check your eyes."

Steve forced himself to endure her shining the light in his eyes.

"Hmm, not too bad," she commented, writing something on her pad.

"Then I can leave?" Steve asked hopefully, and blinked at her to make the white spots dancing in front of his eyes disappear. He was not very successful with it, but refused to give up without a fight.

"Nice try." She flipped back the sheet at the end of the bed and checked his foot which was resting on a pillow. Moving the ice pack, she checked the swelling and bruising. "We need to wait for some of the swelling to go down before we see just how bad of a sprain this is, but I can tell that you won't be walking on it for a little while. Since it is so late, I'll wait and check your back tomorrow. We had to cut the arrow from your muscle so you will have bruising and a good amount of pain for quite some time. I don't want you to do anything to break open the wound. You have bruising over much of your body, and that alone will keep you from moving around too much, but we want to make sure our pain management regimen works, too.

"I can lie around at home just as good as I can here," Steve argued.

"Yes, I'm sure you could," she replied. "But I seem to recall the last time you promised that, I saw you on a 'Breaking News' story on TV."

Steve really didn't have a reply to that one. He knew when he was busted. "So… how long?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Probably tomorrow, if you behave. If the swelling continues to go down, we'll get your foot in a brace in the morning and see how you can get around on it." She turned to Catherine. "Make him stay put tonight, please."

"Yes, ma'am," Catherine told her. "You have my word."

"I'm right here, you know."

"Oh yes," Palakiko said, smiling. "We know."

_**~~~H50~~~**_

"Hey, Catherine, how is he?" Danny whispered as he and Grace quietly entered the room.

"He's fine, thank you for asking," Steve said, opening his eyes to look at his friends. He smiled and made a face at Grace.

She breathed a sigh and moved to the side of the bed. "Uncle Steve." She started to tear up and added, "I was so scared."

"It's OK, Gracie. Everything's fine."

"Uncle Steve, I am so very sorry. This is all my fault."

"What?" Danny asked. "No, it's not."

She nodded her head. "It is. Really. I tricked you into coming to the island with me and then you got lost and you got hurt, and it's all my fault." She looked at Catherine and continued, "And I made you miss your romantic date together."

"Oh, Grace, Honey, this isn't your fault," Catherine tried to tell her.

"Well, hang on," Steve began. "Maybe it is."

"What?" Danny bellowed.

"Think about it, Danny," Steve said. "I guess Grace knew that crazy man was poaching in the park when she decided we needed to visit Kaua'i."

"No, I didn't," Grace argued.

"Well, then you probably knew there was going to be a bad mudslide and I would end up in it, right?"

"No…"

"So, you knew that kid was going to drop his bow and arrow and shoot me."

"Uncle Steve, I didn't know those things," she said quietly.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Then maybe you aren't to blame, OK? Gracie, no one is upset with you. Besides, without you and Lucy, Danno might not have caught Nigel. Catherine told me all about it."

"The girls were great," Danny agreed. "They found Michael and then they also caught Nigel. It was a very busy weekend."

"Are we good?" Steve asked her.

Grace reached up and hugged his neck. "Yeah, we're good. But we still need to find more geocaches. Only Lucy and I are going to plan better the next time."

Catherine laughed, Danny groaned and Steve shook his head.

"Maybe next time, you aren't in charge of planning, OK Gracie?" Steve asked.

"Deal. We just have to invite Lucy. I think she has a crush on you."

"Oh, no, no, no," Catherine argued, shaking her head in protest. "You can tell your friend Lucy that Steve is already spoken for." She smiled at him. "And I don't share very well. Lucy will have to find her own boyfriend."

Grace jumped up and clapped. "You said it!"

"Said what?" Cath looked at her with a questioning look on her face.

"Boyfriend. Cool. Uncle Steve is really your boyfriend? That means that you're his girlfriend, even though he can't say that word."

"Really?" Catherine looked at him.

"Um, I think it's time for us to say goodnight, Gracie." Danny grinned at his partner. "Steve, see you in the morning."

"Yeah, uh, I am pretty tired. Think I will get some rest."

"Goodnight, Uncle Steve. You, too, Catherine."

"So…" Catherine began as the door closed behind their guests.

Steve's eyes were closed and she pinched the base of his thumb to get his attention.

"Ow!"

"So what word can't you say?"

"I can say words."

"Then say it."

"Say what?"

"Say that I'm your girlfriend."

"Catherine, you know…"

She held up the letter he had written and read once again, "I am long overdue in showing you…"

"OK, OK, OK. Girlfriend, all right?"

"That sounded really romantic," she retorted.

Steve looked at her and couldn't hide his grin. "Yeah, well, you know me."

She leaned down and placed her forehead against his, careful not to touch the butterflies covering the cut on his head. Whispering, she replied, "I've _**known**_ you for a long time, but it's really nice hearing you say it." She kissed him. "Now, get some sleep so I can take you home tomorrow," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am. Anything you say, Lieutenant."

"Oh, I wish, Commander!"

_**~~~H50~~~**_

*Ensign Tyler Grant was a character in my story _**Uhane**_.

** Dr. Palakiko has appeared in two stories I have written; _**Hekili Pao**_ and _**Ho'okahi.**_

_**Thank you so much for reading. See you next time... hopefully in time for Thanksgiving.**_


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